The rumor mill continues to turn in MLB and this time it's landed on Rafael Devers and a potential deal to the Philadelphia Phillies. Without warning, rumors started flying around of Devers potentially getting dealt and the Phillies were named as a rumored suitor for his services. He's a solid player, but Devers isn't a fit and the Phillies shouldn't bail out the Boston Red Sox from their predicament.
In theory, Devers would be a huge bat in the Phillies lineup, but we’re not setting our fantasy baseball lineups here. Rumors are normal, but the line between organizational stability and day-dreaming is starting to get blurry. Just the financials alone would set the payroll ablaze. The Phillies have needs on their roster, but nothing is to gain from a Devers trade.
Phillies must stay far away from helping Red Sox with blockbuster Rafael Devers trade
Devers signed a massive 10-year, $313.5 million before the 2023 season and in just two years, there's talk of the Red Sox potentially shipping him to Philadelphia for Alec Bohm and/or a top pitching prospect like Andrew Painter. If the Red Sox were to call for a deal, the Phillies shouldn't think twice about sending the call from Red Sox's Craig Breslow straight to voicemail.
Devers had shown an unwillingness to move off of third base before they brought in Alex Bregman, a name that was also linked to the Phillies. Devers then became the full-time designated hitter. The latest drama concerns his reported resistance to playing first base. The contention surrounding his stubbornness is a concern, which could be an issue from the Red Sox putting him in an unfortunate spot, per MLB.com's Jackson Stone. After 2025, there is still $238.5 million owed on Devers' contract with $60 million of it deferred. Bohm by comparison still has one year of team control after 2025 and is only making $7.7 million this year. The Red Sox may feel forced to get Devers off their hands.
Then there's the defensive metrics to account for. Swapping out Bohm for Devers even defensively would be a sizable downgrade for the Phillies. In 2024, among 43 qualified third baseman, Devers was 37th with -6 outs above average, per Statcast. Bohm, who looks like a Gold Glover in comparison, ranked 11th with three outs above average. There is also little to no chance of him replacing Schwarber at DH if the Phillies can re-sign him.
Both players started off the 2025 season slower than expected with Devers taking the idea to a whole new level with his historically awful start, but mercifully came to an end, per MLB.com's Paige Leckie. The idea of dealing Bohm for Devers at first sounds fun and exciting, but realistically, the Phillies have little to gain from a deal like this. Fans can try to talk themselves into it, but it would just be false-hearted at the end of the day.