Boston Red Sox reportedly vetoed initial trade involving new SF Giants star for surprising reason

The SF Giants made a stunning trade on Sunday, acquiring star infielder Rafael Devers in a five-player deal. Not only was the relationship between Devers and the Boston Red Sox untenable, but Boston was motivated to clear his entire contract off the books and reportedly rejected an offer that did not achieve that.

Boston Red Sox reportedly vetoed initial trade involving new SF Giants star for surprising reason

Geoff Pontes of Baseball America joined the Foul Territory Podcast on Monday to break down the Devers trade. He reported that Red Sox owner vetoed John Henry an initial offer because he did not like the financial framework:

"There was another deal where they [Red Sox] were taking on some of the money... That was vetoed by John Henry, and the reason it was vetoed was because they had to take on money."

Geoff Pontes

Teams can and do pay down a player's contract to net a better prospect return. This does not happen all the time, but the New York Mets are one example of a team that assumed a large salary commitment when they shipped Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, respectively, in 2023.

Big market teams can use that financial flexibility to their advantage. Of course, the Red Sox are a big market team, but decided against that approach with the Devers trade. They wanted to clear the books of the remainder of his 10-year, $313.5 million deal.

If you are wondering why the deal felt underwhelming from Boston's standpoint, they were financially motivated to make a deal. A player of Devers' caliber would certainly net a huge return if they wanted to pay down some of his remaining contract.

Perhaps, the Red Sox wanted to quietly make a swift move, rather than drag this process out. A trade of this nature in June is surprising and caught nearly everyone off guard. At the very least, they did act swiftly.

In the end, the Giants used their financial strength to absorb a lucrative, long-term contract. The Red Sox did take on some salary, acquiring Jordan Hicks and the remainder of his four-year, $44 million deal. That offsets a small portion of what is owed to Devers.

It was a bittersweet deal, as they had to part with Kyle Harrison and James Tibbs III. It did look like Harrison was beginning to turn the corner this season after an up-and-down 2024 campaign. On the other hand, Tibbs III put up some strong numbers with the Eugene Emeralds. The Giants added a proven bat in Devers. More often than not, the team that adds the proven player wins the deal.