Nearly 24 hours later, the San Francisco Giants' acquisition of star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox isn't any less stunning than it was when the news broke. Boston shockingly shipped off its best hitter just when it seemed like the team had announced itself as a player in the AL East race, while San Francisco finally got the big bat its sought for years and years now.
But a blockbuster like this ripples all the way around the league. This is a trade we're going to be breaking down for months and years to come, one that figures to have a profound effect on not just the teams and players involved but everyone around them. Here are some winners and losers that you may not have expected.
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Winner: Gerrit Cole
The New York Yankees have to be feeling at least a tiny bit better about their humbling sweep over the weekend now that the Red Sox have decided to ship off their best hitter. But one player in particular has to be breathing a huge sigh of relief: Devers had absolutely owned Gerrit Cole over their time as division rivals, slashing an eye-watering .350/.435/.975 off the righty in 46 career regular-season plate appearances.
Things got so bad that at one point last year Cole intentionally walked Devers with the bases empty just to avoid pitching to him. Looming that large in the mind of a pitcher with Cole's track record simply doesn't happen very often.
Cole won't be back on the mound again for the Yankees until next season after undergoing elbow surgery this spring, but he'll no doubt be delighted to know that once he does, Devers won't be waiting for him.
Loser: Los Angeles Dodgers
We can start with the obvious reason: L.A.'s path to an NL West title was already tough enough with the Giants and San Diego Padres breathing down their neck and the Arizona Diamondbacks playing better as of late. Now San Francisco has given its lineup a major boost, and the Dodgers' margin for error if their pitching staff can't get healthy just shrank even further.
But there are even more reasons why this trade is bad news for Andrew Friedman and Co. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman have DH and first-base duties occupied for the foreseeable future, but third base loomed as a question mark with Max Muncy in the final guaranteed year of his deal. If the Dodgers wanted to move on from the soon-to-be 35-year-old, either at the deadline or over the winter, Devers figured to be high on the list of potential replacements.
Now that possibility is out the window, and if Alex Bregman opts to stick around in Boston, the list of potential options at the hot corner is pretty thin. Speaking of Bregman ...
Winner: Alex Bregman
How's that for leverage? Bregman already figured to have plenty of it this offseason, with the chance to opt out of his contract after having gotten off to a scorching start to the 2025 season before going down with a quad injury. Now, though, the Red Sox figure to be even more motivated to convince him to stick around: Good luck trying to convince Boston fans that moving Devers was worth the future financial flexibility when you're not willing to use some of that flexibility on your best hitter and clubhouse leader.
Bregman seems to be having a great time with his new team, and it's unclear how motivated he'll be to play hard ball. With opt-outs after all three years of his $120 million deal, though, the ball is squarely in his court, and the Red Sox risk a revolt both from their fan base and from their own players if they don't do whatever it takes to keep him around for the long haul.
Loser: Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers have to be wondering what Breslow has against them personally. First, Detroit was left at the altar when a last-minute offer from the Red Sox snatched Bregman out from under them. Now, with the team desperately seeking one more big bat to solidify their position atop the American League, Boston decided to send Devers to the Giants without even shopping the star slugger around.
If Breslow had been a bit more interested in taking calls, you have to figure the Tigers would've been among the most motivated and best-positioned teams to get a deal done. Devers would've been a perfect fit in Detroit's lineup, and the Tigers have both the payroll space and the prospect depth to make it work. Landing Devers would have made them the clear favorites to make it to the World Series in a wide-open AL. Now, Scott Harris will have to go back to the drawing board.
Winner: Toronto Blue Jays
You could argue that just about every team in the AL Wild Card race (which at this point is most of the league) is a winner here. But it's worth highlighting the Toronto Blue Jays specifically.
At the start of spring training, plenty around baseball were calling for the Blue Jays to blow things up, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette set to hit free agency and another lackluster offseason leaving the team seemingly too far away from contention to make a serious push in 2025. Even Guerrero Jr. himself seemed to be running out of patience.
But Ross Atkins and Co. held firm, and they've been rewarded for their patience over the last few months. First, they were able to sign Vladdy to a $500 million deal that should keep him in Canada for the rest of his career. And then they started winning more than expected on the field, holding the second AL Wild Card spot entering play on Monday. The odds of hanging on to that spot just went up with Devers now in San Francisco, and if nothing else, this whole saga, should show Jays fans just how close the Guerrero Jr. saga was to spiraling out of control.
Loser: NL Wild Card hopefuls
Competition already figured to be awfully stiff for the three Wild Card spots in the NL, with the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres and the Giants all setting an impressive pace. Now, though? Good luck, especially with Philly and San Diego looking to take at least one big swing apiece at the trade deadline.
Teams like the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks were already facing a steep climb to overcome slow starts and get back into the postseason picture, not to mention the trio of NL Central teams that have been seemingly left in the dust by the Chicago Cubs. Devers in San Francisco now makes it far less likely that, say, the Cincinnati Reds or St. Louis Cardinals view themselves as legitimate playoff contenders, and that could have a dramatic effect on how they plan to navigate the trade deadline.