Jen McCaffrey

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jen McCaffrey

SAN FRANCISCO — Rafael Devers stepped to the plate in the first inning at Oracle Park on Friday, his first game against his former team, the Boston Red Sox. It had been five days since a shocking trade between the Red Sox and Giants rocked the baseball world. Devers, wearing No. 16 and donning San Francisco’s orange and black, walked the batter’s box as the crowd rose for a standing ovation. In the opposing dugout, Red Sox manager Alex Cora nodded his head to his longtime former player.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jen McCaffrey

SAN FRANCISCO — As Rafael Devers prepared to play his former team, the Boston Red Sox, on Friday night, he avoided addressing any hard feelings from the fallout of a massive trade earlier this week. Devers, who was traded to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night after nine seasons in Boston, repeated multiple times that what happened in Boston was in the past. “That’s in the past,” Devers said through an interpreter while sitting in the Giants’ dugout at Oracle Park.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jen McCaffrey

The full chaos of the MLB trade deadline won’t begin in earnest for another month or so. Still, the Boston Red Sox have already made their most significant trade of the season, sending Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for a package that includes young left-handed starter Kyle Harrison and right-hander Jordan Hicks. Where the team goes from here remains to be seen. The first half of their season has primarily been defined by inconsistency as they’ve hovered around .500.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jen McCaffrey

BOSTON - As the Boston Red Sox settled in for a charter flight to Seattle, the man at the center of a four-month drama was nowhere to be found. Rafael Devers had grown into the face of the franchise, doing so over the course of nine seasons and more than 1,000 games. He had been raised in the organization after signing as a baby-faced 16-year-old in 2013. He had played for just one organization and won the World Series in 2018. Eventually, he earned the largest contract in team history.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Jen McCaffrey

BOSTON - Brayan Bello dazzled on the mound for the Boston Red Sox, shutting down Aaron Judge once again, as the Red Sox offense found a way to beat one of the best starters in baseball. That series of events helped the Red Sox to a 2-0 victory and an improbable series sweep of the New York Yankees on Sunday. It marked their first series sweep of New York since August 2023. With two series against New York in 10 days, the Red Sox won five of the six games.