Red Sox insider defends Buster Posey from rumors related to Rafael Devers trade

When Red Sox stalwart Rafael Devers was dealt to the Giants after spending almost a decade of his career in Boston, it sent shockwaves and raised eyebrows across the league. Some even likened the trade to the NBA's Dallas Mavericks —who traded away franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic from seemingly out of nowhere.

Three weeks removed from the MLB's most surprising deal of the decade, analysts and insiders have well debated the inner workings and build-up that led to Devers' exit from Boston. One wild suggestion was Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey bypassed Boston executive Craig Breslow to make the transaction happen.

"If that is true, it's news to all people who are involved in the trade," said Red Sox insider Rob Bradford in a guesting on WEEI Afternoons. (1:09-1:12)

Bradford, who primarily works as an insider for Boston, refuted the claims that Posey directly talked to Fenway Sports Group's principal owner John W. Henry to make the Devers deal happen.

"This goes back to the first week of the Devers trade. There's so much stuff lying around and it continues to be. If we said at the time: 'Are we going to keep talking about the Devers thing two weeks from when it happened?' The answer is simple, if they win, no. If they lose, yes. They lost, so we're going to get more things like this much like we got during the first week." (1:28-1:57)

The Red Sox insider further discussed that the rumors persisted due to the negative results that the team incurred after Devers left the squad. It should be noted that the team lost six-straight games, starting from the second-game of their clash with Devers' Giants in San Francisco on June 21 and was only halted when they won against the Blue Jays on June 28.

"It's a low-hanging fruit for a lot of people. It's really entertaining, but honestly kind of annoying in some respect. I love digging into the very complex things, but some of the stuff we've talked about is dumb." (2:02-2:16)

Red Sox wallop Blue Jays to end 6-game skid

On June 28, the Red Sox put an end to their embarrassing six-game losing streak after dominating the Blue Jays, 15-1. All but one Boston hitter recorded at least six hits in the contest as Jays starter Chris Bassitt was pelted with eight earned runs in a two-inning appearance.

In addition, Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito crafted a masterful performance on the mound by giving up just one run on six base hits with a walk and five strikeouts in seven innings.