Monday, June 16 | Follow Globe Sports

BATTING LEADOFF

This is not going to play well in Red Sox Nation.

It’s shocking.

And demoralizing.

The suddenly surging Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway on Sunday afternoon for their fifth straight win, got on a plane to Seattle for a nine-game west coast trip, then traded franchise face Rafael Devers to the Giants for mediocre pitchers Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.56 ERA) and Jordan Hicks (1-5, 6.47), plus two far-away prospects.

It’s a big bowl of bad for Boston baseball. The Red Sox are once again saving money and asking their paying population to tolerate a mediocre present in hopes of a better future.

No thanks.

Read Dan Shaughnessy's full column at Globe.com/Sports

TO THE LINKS

IT ALL GOES BACK TO MOOKIE BETTS: If it was obvious then that Devers’ 11-year, $331 million megadeal in 2023 was the only acceptable move after letting so many stars walk away, Tara Sullivan writes it’s just as obvious now that the Red Sox suffered some buyer’s remorse, all but admitting they backed the wrong horse.

DIMINISHED RETURNS?: Most evaluators looking at the deal sat somewhere between puzzled and stunned when trying to determine how the trade made sense for the Red Sox’ competitive ambitions in 2025. Alex Speier has a look at the four players the Sox acquired.

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE: The Red Sox obtained something other than a pair of pitchers and a couple of prospects: flexibility. Tim Healey examines what that flexibility — financial and otherwise — means for the Sox in the weeks and years ahead.

ABOUT YESTERDAY: The move overshadowed a terrific performance by Brayan Bello, who pitched seven innings and threw a career-high 114 pitches as the Red Sox finished a three-game sweep of the Yankees. Peter Abraham has the game story.

Here is the box score.

SOMETHING MISSING: Gary Washburn writes that this current Yankees roster lacks any real adversaries.

THE YANKEES HUNTER: Also swept under the rug? The Hunter Robbins saga. Peter Abraham looks at how the 25-year-old rookie beat the Yankees for the second time in seven days on Saturday night.

ABOUT TONIGHT: Life after Devers begins tonight, when the Red Sox open a nine-game, 10-day road trip on the West Coast with a three-game series at Seattle. Here is a preview of Monday's opener.

See more of our Red Sox coverage here.

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