With the dust settled on the Rafael Devers trade between the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants, we can now see how underwhelming the return was on the Boston side. In return for Devers, a three-time All-Star and the team's best hitter, the Red Sox received pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks along with prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello. Tibbs and Bello both have upside, but neither is close to MLB-ready. The immediate big-league impact is Harrison and Hicks, but things became even more of a head-scratcher after Boston optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester.
That means the Red Sox received one player, Hicks, who can contribute at the Major League level right away. A quick glance at his 6.47 ERA doesn't appear promising, and given the superstar talent of Devers, it's safe to say the Red Sox will need a miracle from Tibbs III and Bello becoming studs down the road for this trade to be a win.
If the Red Sox were dead set on trading Devers due to an ongoing finger-pointing fiasco with the front office, they could have gone to other infield-needy teams eyeing the postseason and gotten significantly more value. With the way the free-agent market has been the past few seasons and Devers set to make just $28.5 million per year from 2027-2034, it would've been plenty enticing for teams making a strong push. Let's look at three prospects the Red Sox could have targeted instead.
3. Blake Mitchell, C, Kansas City Royals
Carlos Narvaez has been a revelation behind the plate for the Red Sox so far this season, but his batterymate, Connor Wong, has been ... less successful. Plus, there still isn't a long-term plan behind the plate after the team included Kyle Teel in the trade for Garrett Crochet back in December, so why not rectify that here? The Kansas City Royals are in desperate need of another star bat alongside Bobby Witt Jr. as they look to keep pace in the AL Wild Card chase, and they have an abundance of organizational depth at catcher.
A top-10 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Mitchell won't turn 21 until August and is still at least a year or two away from the bigs, but his big-time power and optimized swing give him a Cal Raleigh-esque ceiling if it all clicks.
2. Bryce Rainer, SS, Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers come to mind when considering who is looking for a third baseman ahead of the trade deadline, and top prospect Bryce Rainer would have gotten talks going quickly. It's no secret that the Tigers are shopping for infield help; after missing out on Alex Bregman this winter, they have been heavily linked to Arizona Diamondbacks veteran Eugenio Suarez if he is made available. The problem is that the D-backs are playing well again, and guessing now whether they will buy or sell is a roll of the dice. Landing Devers would make Detroit a serious contender in the American League, and you have to think they'd put together a more impressive package for Devers than what Boston got from the Giants.
Rainer was selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft, and is so far slashing .288/.383/.448 with five home runs, 22 RBI and nine stolen bases in 125 at-bats in A-ball. He is a shortstop, but he's also a couple of years away from the Majors at least, so there's no immediate logjam in Boston's system now that Marcelo Meyer and Kristian Campbell are both in the big leagues. By the time he is up, Bregman is likely gone, so the fit is there on both sides. Consider the ball dropped on this deal.
1. Colt Emerson, SS/3B, Seattle Mariners
Seattle is another team looking to take down their division this winter, and they need offensive help. Jorge Polanco currently slots in at No. 3 in the team's lineup, but he can be moved around the infield to make room for Devers. Seattle is currently 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros; the Mariners are one game over .500, and need to create separation between themselves and the Texas Rangers at the deadline. Seattle has often lacked that one key piece to take them over the top, and moving top prospect Colt Emerson as part of a deal for Devers would've been the way to make that happen.
Emerson is batting just .248/.356/.376 in High-A this season, but nobody is betting against his potential as a future big-league contributor. He slashed .293/.440/.427 before jumping to High-A, and it won't be long until he adjusts and figures it out again. Sandwiching Devers between Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh gives the Mariners an elite lineup in the American League, let alone the lackluster AL West. You have to think the Mariners would have loved the opportunity to work out a deal.
Boston's decision to move Devers 1.5 months before the trade deadline, instead of making him available to all 29 teams for a bidding war to get more in return, is one of the most significant organizational disasters we've seen in a long time. They owe it to their fan base to immediately allocate those funds elsewhere this winter.