The world’s most prominent and connected baseball reporter is out with yet another exposé on the Red Sox front office in the wake of the Rafael Devers trade. If you don’t want to read it, that’s fine — it covers a lot of the same ground as the others did. But there are a few pieces in here that are going to have people talking. The first is a refutation of the earlier rumor that Raffy was upset about Kristian Campbell working out at first (several sources denied it). The second is this:
Since the cuts, Breslow’s circle of trust has been small and his reliance on the team’s analytical model heavy, according to sources, leaving some longtime employees embittered. Breslow loyalists fear the consequences of that, with one saying: “There are definitely turncoats internally plotting against Bres.”
Regardless of whether you think this week’s trade was good or bad for the Sox going forward, it’s hard to feel good about the Red Sox front office going forward. At no point did I ever think I would type these words in 2025, but Craig Breslow’s job may be in jeopardy.
And the local beats are getting in on the act, too. Here’s the Globe with a deep dive into the trade. The biggest nugget in here is Devers saying, in his own words, that he told John Henry he would play first base in 2026 if they needed him to, but not in 2025, as it was “not [his] fault that players get hurt.”
And if you were wondering whether we’d see the Sox front office come out with one of their patented post-departure reputation-destroying leaks, a la the Terry Francona prescription pills rumors, there’s one in here, though it’s a stretch: when he was 17-years-old and being promoted from the Dominican academy to pro ball in Florida, Red Sox officials pulled young Raffy off the US-bound plane because they were unhappy that he was drinking the night before in celebration of what was then the biggest moment of his life. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Devers has already begun working out at first for the Giants, but if you’re wondering if you’ll see him there this weekend against the Sox, you won’t:
Bob Melvin shuts down any possibility of Devers playing first base against the Red Sox:
“Yeah that’s not gonna happen this weekend, we haven’t gotten there… It’s going to take a little bit more time than having him at first base during the Red Sox series.”
(via @knbrmurph &… pic.twitter.com/xXAxi17eOV
— KNBR (@KNBR) June 20, 2025
The continued Devers chatter is probably a good thing for Kristian Campbell, otherwise there would be a lot more attention on his demotion to Worcester and the decision to give him the opening day second base job despite his little experience at the position. While he’s no doubt disappointed at being out of the bigs, in the long run this could prove to be the right move. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
