Explaining The Unraveling Of The 2018 Boston Red Sox

The 2018 Boston Red Sox presented a case for one of the best teams in MLB history.

They finished the regular season with 108 wins, which only 12 other teams have been able to accomplish.

Unlike all of those other teams, Boston went on to win the World Series in commanding fashion. Throughout the postseason, the Red Sox lost just three games. In those 14 games, the offense produced a .724 OPS with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs.

Since that historic season, however, the Red Sox have only managed to reach the postseason in one season.

Now, after three straight seasons of Boston failing to finish above .500, they find themselves in the National spotlight not due to their series-altering sweep of the first-place Yankees but for losing another member of the championship roster.

But, why has this become a recurring theme for the Red Sox?

Just hours after his home run capitalized the team’s fifth win in a row, slugger Rafael Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants.

The trade came after months of public discourse between Devers and the Red Sox front office regarding his removal from third base.

For an abbreviated summary, Devers had served as the everyday third baseman in Boston since his debut in 2017. Entering 2025, Devers had started just 20 games at designated hitter, compared to 951 at third base.

When the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman in free agency, however, the writing was on the wall that Devers may need to find a new position.

Despite his hesitancy about giving up his role, Devers adjusted to being an everyday DH. Before the trade, he posted a .905 OPS with a team-leading 56 walks.

On May 2nd however, when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury, Devers showed his flexibility is limited to the DH position.

Devers continued to leave his glove in the clubhouse two weeks later when Bregman suffered an injury that placed him on the injured list. Instead of the three-time All-Star third baseman taking his former position back, Devers remained at DH while Marcelo Mayer took the hot corner.

This decision, whether justified or not, was ultimately the final straw for Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.

The lack of time to learn first base, or to eventually become reacclimated with third base, was the justification Devers gave for refusing to play the field.

The public attention about the disagreement is where the finger could be pointed at the Red Sox’s front office, as it seemed that they may not be attempting to protect their franchise centerpiece like a team typically does.

So, despite just signing Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract through 2034, the final member of the 2018 roster has officially left the organization.

The homegrown talent joins a group that could be mistaken for an All-Star team, who continued to produce at an above-average level since leaving the Red Sox. For context, here are the top five players outside of Devers to be let go by the Red Sox via trade or free agency.

• Mookie Betts (traded to LAD in 2019) – 37.6 WAR since 2019
• Xander Bogaerts (signed with SDP in 2022) – 24.3 WAR since 2019
• Nathan Eovaldi (signed with TEX in 2023) – 14.7 WAR since 2019
• Chris Sale (signed with ATL in 2024) – 12.6 WAR since 2019
• J.D. Martinez (signed with LAD in 2023) – 9.6 WAR since 2019

To replace those key pieces, the Red Sox saw players like Alex Verdugo take Bett’s spot in right field, to which he has produced 9.1 WAR since joining the Red Sox. Kike Hernandez and Ceddanne Rafaela combined for a 4.4 WAR in the previous three years at shortstop. And from the DH spot, several players have collected a WAR of 5.7, with 2.3 coming from Devers just this year.

This lack of signing talent to long-term contracts has been apparent in their team payrolls.

In 2018, the Red Sox had the largest payroll in Major League Baseball at $227.4 million.

In 2025, they have fallen to 19th in baseball, only spending $192.4 million.

Despite this drop off in payroll, their stadium attendance has stayed the same since raising a banner. In both 2018 and 2025, the Red Sox ranked ninth in MLB for average attendance, despite having one of the smallest ballparks across the league.

The Devers situation is yet another example of the Red Sox front office hoping to avoid paying for past production, which is common in professional baseball.

This hesitancy to sign players to long-term deals ended their ability to transition their historic 2018 roster into a dynasty.

It also exposed aspects of their scouting and player development, which had a spotlight put on them after allowing so many of their homegrown assets to leave the organization.

Simply put, the departure of Rafael Devers marks the closing chapter of the 2018 championship core.

As the Red Sox continue to reshape their identity, their approach to roster building and player development will play a defining role in the future of one of baseball’s biggest franchises.