The multi-team ownership model has it’s positives and negatives. But rarely does a decision made for one sports team have a ripple effect on another team playing an entirely different sport an ocean away.
Yet, this morning as the sun rises over Boston, many fans may be right to shake their fists in the general direction of Liverpool after a seismic baseball trade.
On Sunday evening, just hours after hitting a home run to complete a sweep of the rival New York Yankees, star slugger Rafael Devers was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for starter Jordan Hicks and a package of prospects.
It’s similar in scope, if not equivalent in star power, to the Luka Doncic trade in that it came out of nowhere and stunned the league.
While Red Sox fans were left do deal with the anguish and anger, sports media icon Bill Simmons began pointing fingers at Red Sox ownership’s ties to Liverpool FC.
The Red Sox were the first pro sports franchise purchased by billionaire John Henry, who went on to form Fenway Sports Group (FSG). Since that purchase, FSG went on to purchase NASCAR team Rousch Racing (now RFK Racing), the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and of course, Liverpool FC.
The Boston Red Sox agreed to a blockbuster trade to move Rafael Devers to the Giants
Boston sports fan and media star Bill Simmons (L) blamed FSG owner John Henry’s (R) investment in Premier League champions Liverpool for why the deal may have happened
Liverpool are on the verge of signing Florian Wirtz (L) and Jeremie Frimpong (R) for $196m
Liverpool has lined up two major transfers for a reported combined fee of roughly $196million (£145.6m) from 2024 German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
First, the club is set to sign Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz on a deal worth $135.8m (£100m) plus $21.7m (£16m) in potential add-ons which would make him the record-breaking British transfer.
While that deal is yet to be confirmed, Liverpool have already announced the signing of Wirtz’s teammate Jeremie Frimpong on a transfer fee of $40.2m (£29.6m).
Liverpool’s addition of the dynamic fullback and the talismanic midfielder are luxury signings on a team that just won a record-tying 20th Premier League title last season and are hoping to repeat.
Meanwhile, back stateside, the Red Sox have not made the playoffs in four seasons and haven’t won a World Series title in seven. This season, the Sox are just one game above .500 – putting them fourth in the AL East, but only half a game back of a Wild Card spot.
But those chances can now be kissed goodbye as Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow engineered a trade to move one of the top-10 hitters in baseball in exchange for Hicks, minor-league pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jose Bello, and outfield prospect James Tibbs.
Many Boston fans are drawing parallels to a similarly major blockbuster trade in February of 2020 – when Breslow’s predecessor Chaim Bloom dealt MVP and World Series winner Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Alex Verdugo, catcher Connor Wong, and infielder Jeter Downs.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow pulled off this stunning move out of nowhere
For Red Sox fans, it echoed the team’s disastrous 2020 trade to move on from Mookie Betts
Devers had issues with the Red Sox front office after they changed his position in the lineup
Verdugo played three seasons of solid baseball with the Red Sox before being traded to the Yankees, Wong is batting below the Mendoza line this season, and Downs never panned out and is currently playing in Japan.
Betts went on to win two World Series titles with the Dodgers and made four All-MLB First Teams.
Now, the Red Sox have moved on from a 2.3 WAR player who logged 15 home runs and has an OPS of .905 across 73 games.
Devers’ relationship with the front office had been deteriorating all season long. The third baseman was initially moved to being a designated hitter after Boston acquired Alex Bregman in free agency.
In May, the Red Sox tried moving Devers to first base – a position he’d never played before – leading the player to go off on the decision with the media.
Bregman is a better defensive player than Devers, but the loss of their best bat will sting the Red Sox and their fans for some time. However, this does clear his 10-year, $315.5m contract off the books.
Moving Devers out of the DH spot will clear up some room for the log jam the team has in the outfield – which includes All-Star Jarren Duran and top prospect Roman Anthony.
The Red Sox travel to San Francisco to take on the Giants this weekend in their only series of the season.