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.