Dodgers Interview: Sox Insider Talks Walker Buehler’s Future, Devers Trade, and Why Dodgers-Giants Is Heating Up Again

LOS ANGELES — Veteran Red Sox reporter and Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast host Rob Bradford recently gave us a few minutes for a wide-ranging conversation before a Dodgers game in Los Angeles. From Walker Buehler trade rumors to the revival of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, Bradford brought insight, humor, and a few Joe Kelly stories for good measure.

Walker Buehler and the Trade Deadline

The Red Sox’s acquisition of Buehler this season raised eyebrows, especially with Boston’s playoff outlook uncertain. Could the Dodgers get him back?

Bradford acknowledged that “a couple weeks ago” there was real speculation about Buehler returning to Los Angeles via trade. But for now, that seems unlikely.

“They could be [sellers],” Bradford said, “but right now they would be buyers. I think they’re one of the wild card teams. They’re playing really well—they’ve won 10 of their last 13 as we sit here.”

Still, Bradford acknowledged how fast things can change: “If they do end up being sellers, Walker Buehler would probably be at the top of the list. They have a lot of guys on one-year deals.”

Despite a somewhat inconsistent season, Buehler’s health and postseason pedigree still make him a high-value target. “There’s something to be said for a guy who’s healthy, who’s going to perform on the big stage,” Bradford said.

But given the team’s commitment to competing—especially after the controversial Devers trade—Bradford said the Red Sox “view him as more of the solution to their own problems.”

The Devers Drama

Bradford didn’t hold back when asked about Rafael Devers’ shocking midseason trade to the San Francisco Giants, calling it “one of the most complicated trades I’ve ever been part of covering.”

He traced the trouble back to spring training. “Devers was like, ‘I’m not going to play anything but third.’ They asked him to DH. Then they wanted him to work at first. He wouldn’t do it.”

While Devers continued to hit, Bradford said it became clear to Boston leadership that his presence was no longer helpful. “He wasn’t being a positive element of a team,” an executive told Bradford. “There was a cloud hanging over their head.”

That’s why, in an incredibly rare move, the Red Sox traded away their franchise cornerstone in June. “They felt they had to turn this over if they were going to make this the best team they could be.”

Now with the Giants, Devers is apparently doing everything he refused to do in Boston: working out at first base, giving postgame interviews, and embracing the team culture. “San Francisco ended up with a guy who is just the rarest of rare hitters,” Bradford said. “That’s not hyperbole—that’s a fact.”

Dodgers-Giants Rivalry Renewed

With Devers in black and orange, Bradford sees the Giants becoming a marquee team again—one capable of reigniting the classic rivalry with L.A.

“They were successful, but it was like, ‘How are they doing this?’” he said of the pre-Devers Giants. “Now, when you bring in a player like Devers, that’s the type of player where you talk about rivalries.”

Bradford compared it to the Dodgers rolling out Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. “It changes the dynamic. It puts the Giants on the radar in a way they haven’t been.”

Asked whether the Dodgers’ bigger rival is still the Padres, Bradford said the rivalry with San Diego is very real—but maybe more recent than historic.

“I think it’s a real rivalry,” he said. “The Padres were the team—even the Dodgers said—they were the best team they faced. Once they beat the Padres, they were like, ‘Alright, we got it.’ That hasn’t gone away.”

Where’s Joe Kelly When You Need Him?

No conversation with Rob Bradford would be complete without a Joe Kelly sidebar. As co-author of A Damn Near Perfect Game with Kelly, Bradford had plenty to say about the fiery reliever who once became a Dodgers folk hero.

Referencing a recent on-field dust-up, Bradford laughed: “You see bullpens running in, and they’re like, ‘Really? We got to run in?’ But Joe—he’s doing a 4.4 forty, diving in.”

Bradford said there’s still real value in having a guy like Kelly on your roster. “He’s not going to be afraid to do it, and he’s not going to be afraid to deal with the ramifications.”

Could Kelly return to the Dodgers? “He’s throwing a little bit, working out, going to see where he’s at health-wise,” Bradford said. “And if everything’s a go—it’s Dodgers or bust.”

For now, though, Kelly is navigating a different kind of chaos: youth baseball. Bradford shared the wild tale of Kelly getting bopped in the forehead by a parent during a 9-year-old travel team championship game—yes, really.

“You’ve got to check out the podcast,” Bradford said. “There’s so many elements of everything that’s wrong with youth sports.”

Final Thoughts

Bradford clearly enjoyed being back in L.A. “It’s so awesome coming to LA. I walk in and see a 30-foot mural of my co-author on the wall,” he said with a smile.

With Buehler rumors swirling, Devers shaking up the NL West, and Joe Kelly potentially on standby for another Hollywood sequel, Bradford summed it up best: “That story’s yet to be told.”

And as any Dodgers fan knows, there’s plenty more baseball left to play.

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