Rafael Devers ride from World Series hero in Boston to being unceremoniously shipped to San Francisco came only two years after agreeing to a mammoth $313.5M contract through 2033, per Fansided’s Robert Murray. The return sees Major League pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks go to Beantown alongside prospects Jose Bello and James Tibbs.
Devers tenure in Boston turned sour this past offseason when the team made a sizable financial commitment to third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman, a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger third baseman with winning pedigree, fell most of the offseason until the final suitors were Boston and Detroit, the two teams whose managers had previously coached Bregman as members of the Houston Astros. Bregman ultimately inked a deal that sees him being paid $40M a year to man the hot corner in Boston. Devers refused to move from his natural position of third base heading into Spring Training, ultimately pigeonholing him into the designated hitter spot because he had felt the Red Sox had not given him adequate time to take reps across the diamond at first base. Following a slow start that saw him go 0-16 with 12 Ks, Devers season had ultimately seemed to turn a corner, exiting Boston following a campaign where he had provided a .272 average and fifteen homeruns, including a longball today against arguably the American League’s best starter in Yankees ace Max Fried.
However, just a day after manager Alex Cora seemed to fully commit to Devers as Boston’s primary DH for the remainder of the season, Devers has been traded before we’d even gotten to the All-Star break. The San Francisco Giants, the team acquiring Devers services, are unlikely to play him at his natural position of third base, either, seeing as the club has platinum glove recipient Matt Chapman currently playing some of the best baseball of his storied career. However, with LaMonte Wade Jr.’s horrid start at first base, the Giants are only two weeks removed from President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey citing a need to address the first base production of the ballclub, or lack thereof, making it likely the Devers should situate rather nicely into a real position over the next eight years in the Bay area.
For the Red Sox, the move makes sense despite seemingly lackluster return for a 28-year-old superstar. The Giants have opted to absorb the entirety of Devers contract, leaving far more financial flexibility for the Red Sox to seek team upgrades in the future, including a potential extension of Bregman to buyout his option at seasons end. Jordan Hicks is seemingly unlikely to remain as a starting pitcher, but the move could help fortify an already elite Sox bullpen as the former reliever is far more comfortable coming out of the pen. Across his career, Hicks has an ERA over a full run lower as a reliever than starter, even with a higher volume of innings pitched out of the pen. Meanwhile, Kyle Harrison gives Boston a Major League-ready arm despite struggling to a tune of an 88 ERA+ in parts of three seasons at the Major League level. Harrison also seems like an optimal transition to relief pitcher, seeing has he’s in the 83rd percentile for fastball run value, while his breaking pitches seemingly aren’t competitive as the game moves along. Overall, the return isn’t great, but with two lottery ticket prospects, an arm that throws 100, and a 23-year-old MLB arm, that’s more than enough to make Boston content enough to part with Devers so long as they also part with the near-$300M the club owes him. That said, the biggest drawback from Boston is that they have yet to receive anything of real value while trading away future Hall of Famers from their 2018 World Series club, with the highlight returns of the Mookie Betts and Chris Sale trades being Sale’s current teammate Alex Verdugo, and Vaughn Grissom already being relegated to the minors while Sale may contend for his second consecutive Cy Young in as many years since departing. The deal, though, does not seem to be as much as what the Red Sox could get for Devers, but rather to open up the roster flexibility for general manager Craig Breslow, whose predecessor was the executive that signed the Devers extension in the first place. While the Red Sox have optic issues parting with superstar players, the Giants have had just as many issues acquiring the services of superstar players.
In recent years the Giants have finished in second place for superstars such as Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, while also seeing a deal with Carlos Correa fall through in the eleventh hour. The team signed Willy Adames to the most lucrative contract in club history this offseason, but the deal has yet to seem like a savvy contract, and also read as a real-time overpay for a shortstop who’d never even been a Major League All-Star made out of desperation. The deal for Devers gives a good team, currently sitting at eleven games over .500 despite a competitive NL West, a much-needed middle-of-the-order bat. The Giants currently rank 15th in runs scored and 23rd in OPS as a club, marking below-average as an overall offense. Devers brings an offensive pedigree to Oracle Park with him, as the three-time All-Star brings a lifetime 162-game output of 33 HR, 107 RBI, and .280/.350/.515 slashline across nine seasons. Devers is also in his prime, landing the Giants a potential future Hall of Famer for the better part of the next decade to market the ballclub around while also surrendering very little because they were able to take on the full monetary aspect of Devers deal.
For one team, this trade ends the 2025 saga that started in the offseason. For another, it ends a years-long odyssey to land a superstar player that they can have in the heart of their lineup for the foreseeable future everyday at the ballpark. Either way, two big market teams were able to come to terms on a certified blockbuster months ahead of the trade deadline, setting the trade market very early in 2025, which could cause a potential domino effect in the coming weeks.
