Yankees fans will love Bill Simmons' conspiracy theory after Rafael Devers trade

In October 2010, John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group added to their portfolio by acquiring the Premier League’s Liverpool F.C. 

While they once considered selling the club in 2022, they’ve reached new heights recently, as they won the Premier League last season and made the move of the summer transfer window by signing German midfielder Florian Wirtz from the Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen. 

And, according to one legendary member of Boston sports media, it could also be the reason for why the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers.

Yankees fans will love Bill Simmons' conspiracy theory after Rafael Devers trade

On Sunday night about an hour after the Red Sox had traded Devers, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons posted a screenshot from a new story from The Athletic’s Chris Weatherspoon detailing how Liverpool could afford the $139.5 million the team owes to secure Wirtz. 

And while the article breaks down all the reasons why Liverpool could afford to make the move (they’re getting a new jersey deal this year and have had a lot of success on the field as of late), it’s not hard to pick up what Simmons is insinuating: the shared ownership group was able to afford that deal by trading Devers. 

And he wasn’t the only one to draw that connection. 

And all of this should just add a little more joy to what’s likely already been a fun Monday for Yankees fans. While the Red Sox swept the Yankees over the weekend, the Red Sox just traded away one of their best players, and their fanbase is convinced the ownership group did it because they want to make another team in their ownership group better. 

Devers is still owed nearly all of the $313.5 million contract the Red Sox signed him to ahead of last season. The Giants will be on the hook for all of the contract, which is a reason why the Red Sox were only able to get four players in return, none of whom represent immediate solutions.

And while it may seem like this trade materialized out of nowhere, there was always something bubbling under the surface. It started in the spring when Devers said he wouldn’t move off third base after the team signed Alex Bregman, then saying that he wouldn’t move from designated hitter to first base after Triston Casas' knee was damaged.

As a result, Marcelo Meyer has learned third base on the fly due to Bregman’s injury, while fellow prospect Kristian Campbell attempted to learn first base. 

Late last night, Boston Red Sox beat writer Pete Abraham reported that the team had been fed up with his inability to fulfill the responsibilities the team felt was necessary for a player who signed a $313 million contract. 

And all of those things may be true. And they likely are true. But what has Red Sox ownership done to make it seem like they’re making moves like this with baseball in mind?

The previous regime led by Chaim Bloom traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers instead of offering him an up-to-standards contract in what’s become one of the worst trades in modern baseball history. Now the present regime has made a trade that has a chance to rival it — so much so that the fan base is grasping at straws to try and figure out how on earth it could have happened.