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JON VANKIN is a journalist and writer. He is the author of five nonfiction books and nine graphic novels. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Salon, the L.A. Weekly and dozens of other publications and he has received numerous awards and honors including three New England Press Association awards.
In connection with his work, Vankin has made numerous media appearances on such networks as CNN, CNBC, FOX, the BBC and the CBC as well as hundreds of radio stations and podcasts.
Vankin in his wide-ranging career has also served as an editor of comic books and newspapers. He is the editor of the NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLING graphic novel GET JIRO! by the late, great Anthony Bourdain. He co-wrote the hit Off Broadway musical FOREVER DUSTY, and served as a sportswriter and editor at The Daily Yomiuri, the English-language edition of Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, in Tokyo.
Contributing Sports Writer
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Rafael Devers, the face of the Boston Red Sox franchise in just the second season of his 10-year, $313.5 million contract, was shockingly traded to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. But Devers did not demand the trade, according to one insider journalist’s report.
“Devers did not demand a trade, a source with knowledge of the discussions says,” wrote reporter Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
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But Cotillo also said that the simple fact that Devers did not demand the trade doesn’t mean that he was opposed to being traded.
“This does not mean (Devers) was against it,” Cotillo continued. “(Chief Baseball Officer Craig) Breslow felt it was in the best interest of the team to move on and Devers, who had clearly been unhappy for months, may very well have, too. The anger he felt about the way the (front office) treated him was real.”
Another longtime Red Sox insider, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, said that sources told him the team’s reasoning behind the trade.
Those reasons came down to the fact that the team’s management was fed up with what they perceived as Devers’ refusal to be a team player.
When the Red Sox signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, Devers initially refused to move to the designated hitter role, to allow the Gold Glover Bregman to take over the hot corner.
More MLB: MLB Fans React to Giants Blockbuster Trade of Rafael Devers
