Dustin Pedroia understands his former teammate Rafael Devers

In a very interesting interview on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast, Dustin Pedroia revisited the deal that brought Rafael Devers from Boston to San Francisco.

The former Red Sox legend had nothing but good things to say about the recent member of the Giants organization, praising in particular his batting stroke. He also mentioned that he understood the Devers of 2025, as a similar situation had once happened to him in his career, and that it had shaken him to the core.

For the first time since the Rafael Devers trade, Dustin Pedroia weighs in on how he viewed the whole situation on @BBisntBoring. pic.twitter.com/H1LX2AgONC

– Rob Bradford (@bradfo) November 19, 2025

The signing of another second-cushion player

Let's go back in time to 2013. The Boston Red Sox win the World Series to the delight of Red Sox Nation. Dustin Pedroia was on fire and at the top of his game. That year, he and his club agree to an eight-year, $110 million contract extension, effective the following year. All seemed well and he was, as they say, on cloud nine.

Then, on February 23, 2015, he learned that his team was signing another second baseman like himself, prospect Yoan Moncada, for several tens of millions of dollars. Then came the questioning, which he says is perfectly normal, because we're human after all. He couldn't understand why this money hadn't been invested to fill other gaps in the line-up.

I thought I was their guy. I thought they loved me as much as I loved them. – Pedroia on Moncada's arrival

So yes, Devers went through the same thing as his former teammate this year when Craig Breslow brought another third baseman in Alex Bregman into the locker room for tens of millions of dollars too. However, one story ended better than the other.

Rafael Devers is the first player since 2008 to play in 163 games in one season pic.twitter.com/YpV3D5atNw

– MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2025

The way to react

Pedroia used the Cuban's arrival as motivation to perform better. In the end, Moncada played just eight games for Boston and then moved on to the Chicago White Sox, which brought Chris Sale in return. Still!

In Devers' case, however, it was as if Bregman's arrival had totally destroyed him. He seemed to spoil the atmosphere in the dressing room. It's probably no coincidence that the Red Sox began to perform better following his departure.

Adversity says a lot about a human being's character. Every reaction is different, and that's the beauty of human nature and of athletes, whatever the sport.

This content was created with the help of AI.