Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow acknowledged on a conference call Sunday night that the deal leaves a hole in the lineup, but he hoped it would pay off this season. Although there is a newly created need for a power hitter, the team now has roster and payroll flexibility to add players at the trade deadline, he said.

The Boston Red Sox moved on from one of the faces of their franchise on Sunday, trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in one of the more surprising moves in recent memory.

The two Red Sox executives suggested Devers's refusal to consider playing play first base after a season-ending injury to Triston Casas in early May fractured his relationship with the organization.