A few days before the Devers trade, it was reported that Liverpool is signing Florian Wirtz to a club-record deal in the Premier League. The connection there, of course, is that Fenway Sports Group owns both the Reds Sox and Liverpool F.C.

As John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group are the owners of both clubs, a conspiracy theory immediately circulated that the Red Sox were forced to trade Devers because Liverpool had landed Wirtz. On WEEI’s Greg Hill Show Monday morning, Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow shot that idea down emphatically.

While Boston swept the rival Yankees, it was moments after Sunday’s matinee game that the joy was ripped away when it was shockingly announced the Red Sox had traded star Rafael Devers to the Giants. Red Sox fans were not prepared for this rollercoaster of emotions and lambasted the franchise for being cheap once again.