While the Red Sox front office kept reiterating that it was a pure baseball trade, the honest truth is that it was a culture trade. They didn’t believe they could win another championship with Devers. They believed he was the wrong guy to be the centerpiece of the franchise. They didn’t think he would become a leader. So, he is gone.

Boston Red Sox brass on Monday night held a news conference to address the recent surprise and controversial trade of slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The Red Sox on Sunday dealt Devers to the Giants as the centerpiece of a five-player trade that netted Boston some young talent in return and also put the roughly $250 million left on Devers' contract on San Francisco's books.

Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow went out of their way to not bash Rafael Devers on his way out the door Monday. But they didn't sugarcoat relations between the Red Sox and their former star player, either.