Johnny Damon Slams Devers Trade as “Horrible”—What’s Next for Red Sox?
Look, I don’t *want* to be the one rolling my eyes here, but Johnny Damon just shook his head at the Rafael Devers deal, and frankly, he has every right to be fed up. In a recent sit-down with TMZ Sports (June 19, 2025), the former Red Sox outfielder bluntly called the blockbuster swap “just horrible for everyone,” and then proceeded to lay out exactly why fans, the team and Devers himself are in for a rough ride.
Damon kicked things off by noting the emotional gut-punch Sox supporters felt when their young slugger—who’d become the face of Boston’s offense—was jettisoned to the San Francisco Giants. He lamented that he would have much preferred a backstage reconciliation over a public breakup, a sentiment echoed by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who reported internal friction at third base had reached a boiling point. Sure, Devers’ massive contract and clubhouse tension made the move inevitable, but Damon wanted the Sox brass to exhaust every peace-making effort before shipping him out.
Acknowledging the pragmatic side, Damon admitted that offloading Devers’ salary gives Boston much-needed payroll flexibility to chase free agents down the line. “They needed to ease that tension,” Damon told us, citing MLB.com’s analysis that the Sox freed up over $30 million for the ’26 budget. Still, he fretted that this calculated win-win hardly softens the blow for the 25-year-old star adjusting to life on the West Coast. East Coast ballparks, die-hard fans and a media frenzy are a whole different beast, and Damon—it seems—knows only too well how jarring that can be.
The chatter in San Francisco is decidedly sunnier. Devers already notched his first hit and first RBI in Giants purple, prompting roars from Oracle Park faithful (courtesy of a viral clip TMZ Sports picked up). But Damon suspects even the most adoring crowd can’t fully replace Fenway’s Green Monster shadows. If Devers blossoms into an MVP candidate or helps the Giants capture a World Series, Damon warned the Sox front office will rue the day they green-lit this deal.
Despite all this grumbling, Damon made one concession: the Red Sox might actually benefit from hitting the reset button. Younger players will have fewer distractions, and the clubhouse can focus solely on building a contender without a looming contract saga. Whether that gamble pays off remains to be seen.
Did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ Sports, ESPN.com, MLB.com
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
