The Evil is Defeated (?)

 

Here is how yesterday went for me: a great deal of frustration due to the Yankees not being able to hit Brayan Bello, while Rafael Devers continued to tee off us like it was his mission in life. I even said it out loud to my dad, "Devers is the new Yankee killer." His generation had Ellis Burks, mine had Carlos Pena, now we have Devers, just hacking away at Yankee pitching every series. 

And then the rest of the day went by, and around 7 PM I checked my phone and saw that the Red Sox had just traded Devers to the Giants for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks and two minor leaguers. And, like a lot of you, was absolutely gobsmacked.

I feel like I'd just written about this recently, the fact that the Red Sox seemed so willing to keep Devers for the long run yet continued to make decisions that completely undermined his position on the team. Signing Bregman, delegating Devers to third, then asking him to play 1st and being surprised when he doesn't. They just seemed at odds, Devers and the brass, and so this happening isn't THE most shocking thing, but...this happening in June, and immediately after a game where Devers dominates the Yanks, is kinda huge. So now the Sox have DH mobility, can focus on the kids and don't have that contract hanging over them.

And...moreover...the Yankees don't have to play Rafael Devers like 15 games a year. Which helps.

This series with the Sox humbled the Yankees, though not in a way that completely alienates us. Max Fried got the loss yesterday, yet only gave up 2 runs. Judge is still hitting the way he's hitting, and even mustered a homer in all this. The only things the Sox have over us now is the Carlos Narvaez thing and some decent luck. Without Devers, the field has been evened. Also, without Devers, the Sox are a fourth place team still staring at a first place Yankee team, their biggest weapon against us now in San Francisco.

The Yankees still have plenty of weapons I'm excited about. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .309 with 79 hits and 9 homers, with another prime season even as I worried 2024 spelled the end of his peak. Jazz Chisholm is back and booming, finally getting his average to a more normal place. Volpe's hitting .250 with 49 RBIs, that's a much better statistical start from him. D.J. LeMahieu seems to have gotten everything out of his system, hitting .267 with 9 RBIs in 25 games. And Judge is still Judge. 60 RBIs by June 15th. That is insane. 

I'm still very happy with this Yankee team, and I think there's even more strong stuff to come, even as we get some series that look like gimmes but could be spoilers. With Devers out of the East, the only way should be up for these guys.

Coming Tonight: An ex-Yankee. You know the one.