Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz break silence on shocking Rafael Devers trade
Manny Ramirez didn't hold back.
Neither did David Ortiz.
Speaking to Hector Gomez on Monday about the abrupt departure of superstar Rafael Devers, the two Boston Red Sox legends offered pointed takes about Sunday's shocking trade.
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"Devers was humiliated (by the Red Sox)," Ramirez told Gomez, via Twitter/X. "It's not about pride or ego. I think the team didn't respect him or communicate with him properly. I'm sure they didn't do that to (Roger) Clemens. I can't imagine the Yankees telling (Aaron) Judge, 'Now we're moving you to catcher.' "
Devers signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract prior to the 2024 season. Far from bringing security, the contract invited scrutiny when Devers initially refused to move from third base to designated hitter in spring training to accommodate free agent newcomer Alex Bregman.
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Ortiz, the Hall of Fame DH who helped Boston end its 86-year championship drought in 2004, was a natural sounding board to help Devers with his transition to a new position. Yet Ortiz told Gomez that Devers had communication problems of his own — he effectively rejected Ortiz's advice.
"You can't imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice, but unfortunately, he has communication problems," Ortiz said, via Gomez. "He almost never returned my messages, but I don't blame him. He's a good guy, but he definitely needs to improve his communication. He should find an advisor to help him with that."
Red Sox' Rafael Devers said "no" when asked if he thinks there's a chance he could change his mind about playing 1B:
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) May 8, 2025
“I don’t think so. They told me I’m a little hard-headed. They already asked me to change once and this time I don’t think I can be as flexible.”
Boston signed Bregman, the reigning American League Gold Glove Award winner at third base, to a three-year, $120 million free-agent contract in February. After Devers eventually ceded his primary position to Bregman, he refused to move from DH to first base in the wake of a season-ending injury Triston Casas two months later.
Now, Devers is set to be introduced by the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday at Oracle Park. It's an abrupt ending that left fans wondering who was to blame for not finding a way to keep the last link to Boston's 2018 championship team in a Red Sox roster.
Based on the comments from Ramirez and Ortiz, there's plenty of blame to go around.
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