Over a week has passed since the Boston Red Sox stunned the baseball world by trading away Him — a franchise cornerstone and the last remaining member of their 2018 World Series team.
The move caught many front offices off guard. Despite being in the playoff race, Boston dealt one of the game’s premier hitters, and the return from the San Francisco Giants was widely seen as disappointing.
The trade has largely been viewed as a salary dump, with the Giants taking on the entirety of Him’ massive 10-year, $313.5 million contract. In exchange, the Red Sox received:
- RHP Jordan Hicks
- LHP Kyle Harrison
- OF James Tibbs III (San Francisco’s No. 4 prospect)
- RHP Jose Bello
While the financial relief may have been a motivating factor, the player haul was relatively modest — one that many teams with deeper farm systems could have easily matched. In a recent update, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Boston had indeed explored deals with several other clubs, including the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners had a shot at Rafael Devers and missed it
Landing the third-most productive designated hitter in baseball this year would have been a huge lift for Seattle, especially given how underwhelming their DH production has been lately.
Mariners designated hitters have a combined OPS of just .698 this season—20th in the majors—a number that’s somewhat inflated by Jorge Polanco’s early success and 17 games from Cal Raleigh, who’s been heating up recently.
Ideally, if Devers had come to Seattle, he would’ve slid back to third base—a position he strongly preferred and one that caused friction with the Red Sox when Alex Bregman was handed the role. While Ben Williamson has held his own defensively for Seattle, his 73 wRC+ highlights major offensive shortcomings, with little sign of improvement.
Seattle also had a surplus of promising prospects to make a compelling trade package. In contrast, the Giants entered the year with the 28th-ranked farm system and couldn’t offer nearly as much talent.
Still, the Mariners front office wasn’t willing to absorb a contract exceeding $30 million annually over nine years—especially for someone who might eventually be limited to DH duties.
There may have been room to explore moving a large contract like Luis Castillo’s—who was linked to the Red Sox in the offseason—but it would’ve created ongoing financial strain.
In the end, Seattle might not need Devers to contend. Over the past month, their .764 team OPS ranks fifth in MLB, and they currently hold the third AL Wild Card spot. Sure, it would’ve been exciting to see a player with a career .938 OPS at T-Mobile Park in 96 plate appearances join the lineup, but at that cost, it was never a realistic scenario.
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