The Boston Red Sox may have drastically altered the course of their season by trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The team had been playing well, and going into play on Tuesday was in sole possession of a wild card spot.
The team decided to trade Devers on the heels of a sweep of the New York Yankees. The move seemed to signal a fire sale in Boston, but in a press conference posted on the team’s YouTube channel, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was adamant that the team would not be giving up on the season, and that he thinks the team will win more games without Devers than they would have with him.
The Red Sox will need to keep playing well before the July 31 trade deadline if they want to be buyers at the trade deadline. They could even try to replace Devers as the designated hitter at the trade deadline. FanSided’s Christopher Kline suggested that the Red Sox trade for Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves.
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“Even as a short-term solution, this would at least provide the Red Sox with another veteran slugger to prop up a young lineup and give Boston a fighting chance in the AL East,” wrote Kline. “Ozuna is coming off his best campaign to date in 2024. The numbers a less gaudy in 2025, but a slash line of .253/.388/.422 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI still gets the job done. Boston always needs more right-handed slug, too.”
Trading for Ozuna would once again create a logjam in Boston, but adding his production may be worth it. With Devers gone, the designated hitter spot is now open, allowing Boston’s surplus of young talent to get in the lineup together. Between Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida, the Red Sox will need the designated hitter spot to get any combination of four of them in the lineup.
The infield figures to get complicated as well when Alex Bregman returns. Marcelo Mayer or Kristian Campbell could also be designated hitter options. Campbell was the DH in the team’s first game without Devers.
However, it’s hard to argue that Ozuna would not be a better option as the team’s DH than their internal options. He has an .810 OPS this season and has been consistent against both right-handed and left-handed pitching. He brings nothing to the team defensively, but would be a steady force in their lineup.
The Red Sox may not have to worry about a logjam if they end up trading one of their outfielders. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden revealed that the team “will try” to deal one of their outfielders for starting pitching.
The Red Sox have a chance to make the postseason, and adding Ozuna would not hurt their future. The Red Sox can figure out how their outfield will look in the future during the offseason, but they should focus on adding players to help them compete this year. Ozuna signed a four-year, $65 million deal with the Braves before the 2021 season. He exercised a $16 million club option for this season and will be a free agent after the season.
Alex Cora could continue to be creative with the Red Sox lineup and deploy Ozuna as his everyday designated hitter, as he was doing with Devers.
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