Timeline of Dispute That Led to Red Sox Trading Rafael Devers to Giants

Hours after recording a home run for the Boston Red Sox in their 2-0 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday, Rafael Devers was traded from the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a package featuring pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks.

Devers was a homegrown star for the Red Sox, signing with the team as a free agent at the age of 16 in 2013 and spending his entire MLB career with Boston from 2017 until now. Just over two years ago, Devers and the Red Sox committed to each other long term by agreeing a 10-year, $313.5 million deal in 2023.

So what changed? Here's a timeline of the dispute that led to the Red Sox trading Devers to the Giants.

February

The strain between Devers and the Red Sox began earlier this year, when Boston signed Gold Glove winning third baseman Alex Bregman in February to a three-year, $120 million deal. Devers was the team's longtime third baseman, and not interested in a position change. When the signing was initially made, Devers was adamant that he would not play first base or be the team's designated hitter.

"Third base is my position. That's what I've played," Devers said through his translator in February. "I don't know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation. I made it clear what my desires were, and yeah, whatever happens from here, I don't know."

March

Devers ultimately agreed to move to designated hitter when the season began, and Bregman took over at third base.

May

The conflict re-emerged when the Red Sox tried moving Devers to first base in May following Triston Casas's season-ending injury. He strongly objected and expressed his frustration with Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow, who notably joined the team's office after Devers signed his massive extension.

"I just feel like it's not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position," Devers said in May. "It was the GM that I spoke with. I'm not sure what he has with me. He played ball and I would like to think he knows that changing positions like that isn't easy."

Following those comments, Red Sox owner John Henry made a rare flight to Kansas City to speak with Devers about the situation, which remained unresolved.

June

Though Devers has remained one of the team's best hitters, Peter Abraham ofThe Boston Globe reported that the team was bothered by Devers not stepping up to help the team when needed, and didn't feel like he lived up to the "responsibilities" of his massive contract. This led to the Red Sox deciding to trade Devers to the Giants, who will take on the rest of Devers's remaining contract.