Have the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers or their entire reason? There’s no other way to explain their 3-6 fallout since trading Devers to the San Francisco Giants. It’s the same team that was once hanging above .500 and was just half a game away from securing the final wild card spot. After Devers’ trade, the one taking the most heat is Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
This time it’s not fans or analysts calling him out; it’s former Colorado Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd. Speaking with Foul Territory, O’Dowd was visibly infuriated with how Breslow views the players, being a former player himself. The way Breslow handled Devers’ situation prompted O’Dowd to make a harsh observation on Breslow.
He stated, “He [Breslow] does not act like [a former player] to me. It’s perplexing to me. He acts like a lot of current General Managers, which its players are part of a portfolio that they buy and sell.” O’Dowd pointed out how poorly Breslow handled Devers. Moreover, he even acknowledged the positional changes the front office expected from Devers.
Dan O’Dowd says Craig Breslow doesn’t act like a former player.
“He acts like a lot of current GMs, in that players are a part of a portfolio that they buy and sell.” pic.twitter.com/CQ0kuTcysd
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 26, 2025
“Raffy didn’t handle it maturely, but I don’t think the expectation was that you should have expected that he was going to handle that maturely,” O’Dowd accepted that Devers didn’t really act like a team-first guy.
However, the team didn’t do any better. “If they had flown to the [Dominican Republic], and they had looked him in the eyes and they had said, ‘Listen, you’re not a real good defender. We got a chance to sign Bregman or trade for Arenado. We’re going to do that. So, let’s talk about what the transition is for you.” The Red Sox certainly didn’t do that. Instead, they made positional changes that made Devers lose trust.
Then, what could they have done differently? O’Dowd shared that too. He believes that “they should have immediately put a first base glove on him.” He added that Devers, on his part, “should have recognized that his long-term value in the game or even getting into the Hall of Fame someday creates way more value if he’s playing a position [rather] than DH’ing.” It’s true. If Devers was aiming for being inducted to hall of fame someday, he should’ve acknowledged that the ones who contribute both offensively and defensively hold a better value in comparison to the ones who are limited to either side.
The team still has a three-game series starting Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays to make an impact. However, the Red Sox don’t look the same without Devers. It can’t be ignored. The team will certainly never admit it, but losing him to the Giants might have been a mistake.
Are the Red Sox facing a similar 1919 curse?
MLB insider Hector Gomez recently highlighted the Red Sox’s post-Devers ’look. The team has lost seven of its last 10 games. Out of those seven, it was a five-game losing skid. Not just that, their top prospect, Marcelo Mayer, has been visibly struggling at the plate with his .182 batting average.
The team has altogether lost momentum since parting ways with their key slugger. Gomez, taking it to X, asked a fiery question to the Red Sox nation. He stated, “has the Devers curse fallen on the Red Sox?”
Well, that was harsh and equally deep. Remember the curse of bambino? It’s apparently a curse that stayed with the Red Sox for 86 years after they sent off Babe Ruth to their rivals—the New York Yankees—in 1919. Following Ruth’s trade, he performed exceptionally, while the Red Sox had a championship drought.
It’s too soon to come to conclusions; however, Gomez’s question has stunned Boston. Devers is nowhere around Babe Ruth. But his offense for the Red Sox was an asset. His explosive bat out of the mix, meanwhile, the already struggling pitching staff raises serious questions. The team is now 40-42 and below .500, well, that’s telling enough.
Do you think Hector Gomez’s statement could be true?
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