Top Boston Red Sox officials said the team traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday because they could not find "alignment" with their star slugger, whose relationship with the organization degraded after he declined a request by the team to switch positions for the second time this season.
In a 40-minute media availability Monday night, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow defended the decision to trade the 28-year-old Devers, a three-time All-Star in the second season of a 10-year, $313.