The San Francisco Giants stunned the baseball world earlier this summer, trading for a beleagured and disgruntled Rafael Devers. It was Buster Posey's first true statement move as team president — and loud and clea declaration of San Francisco's intention to compete with the best of the best in the NL West.
Unfortunately, things have gone a bit sideways for the Giants since the trade. With the Dodgers and Padres surging, it reached the point where San Francisco was comfortable selling at the trade deadline and punting on the 2025 campaign.
At 57-57, the Giants are 5.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot right now. It feels unlikely that this team, given its recent lulls — three straight losses prior to Tuesday's win over Pittsburgh — will gather the necessary momentum to mount a comeback in the standings.
With the present underwhelming and the future still uncertain, the Giants may come to regret adding Devers, who is a non-fielder most days and whose production has plummeted since arriving in San Francisco (.715 OPS and 108 OPS+ in 154 at-bats). Lest we forget, the 28-year-old still has eight years left on his contract, valued at $29.1 million annually.
Here are a few stars the Giants probably wish they waited on.
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3B Eugenio Suárez, Seattle Mariners
The Arizona Diamondbacks' trade deadline fire sale was highlighted by a blockbuster deal sending All-Star 3B Eugenio Suárez to the Seattle Mariners. At the time of the trade, Suárez led the National League in home runs. He's sitting at 36 moonshots on the season, with 87 RBI and an .872 OPS in 404 at-bats. Straight up, he is out-producing Devers across the board.
Suárez is notably a 34-year-old on an expiring contract, but therein lies the appeal for San Francisco. Rather than being locked into Devers' contract, a depreciating asset, through his late 30s, the Giants could've taken a much cheaper one-year swing on Suárez before reevaluating their options in 2026.
That would allow the Giants to mull over various possibilities, such as re-signing Suárez on a short-term deal or looking at different sluggers (and perhaps better positional fits) in free agency. Instead the Giants will hope Devers can regain his pre-trade forrm and at least deliver a few years of dependable, All-Star-level production before his contract sours completely. Oh well.
OF Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs were never trading Kyle Tucker at the deadline, but his expiring contract has been the talk of the town on the North Side. Jed Hoyer sat on his hands at the deadline and left the Cubs more vulnerable than other contenders in the National League. Factor in their longstanding unwillingness to splurge on the top tax bracket of free agency, and Tucker might be as good as gone in a few months.
San Francisco has been an active player for top free agents, mounting (failed) runs at names like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. While the predominant feeling around Giants free agency in recent years has been disappointment, the front office is commendably steadfast in its aggression. Will that still be the case after taking on Devers' massive contract?
While there's a chance the Giants still mount a free agent push for Tucker, there's a good chance his contract balloons in excess of $500 million total. That's a lot of dough for a team with only so much room in the financial oven. Tucker is a plus defender and one hell of a bat, but Devers' undoubtedly decreases the odds of San Francisco making a truly committed pursuit on the same level as other high-rolling contenders, such as Los Angeles or New York.
3B Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox
Ironically enough, the Giants probably would've been better off waiting until the offseason to pursure Devers' former teammate, Alex Bregman. Bregman was unwittingly the start of all the Devers drama in Boston. His arrival pushed Devers off of third base, which led to the All-Star's unhappiness over the move to DH. Then, when the Red Sox asked Devers to pick his glove back up to man first base, he flatly said 'no.' That never happens if Bregman doesn't ink a three-year, $120 million contract with opt-outs.
While Bregman probably won't get $40 million annually on the open market next offseason, the expectation is that he will opt out of his current deal in search of more long-term security. The Giants don't have an explicit need at third base with Matt Chapman, a perennial Gold Glove candidate, manning the position, but Bregman expressed his willingness to play second base for the Red Sox once upon a time. Surely he'd be up for the same gig in San Francisco.
If the Giants conserved money and went after Bregman in 2026, they could've landed a better all-around player on a less exorbitant long-term deal. Bregman simply won't command eight years worth of cap space at 31. The Giants would get a tremendously reliable bat (.908 OPS) and an incredible locker room leader, not to mention a well above-average defender at the hot corner, which should translate to second base.
Boston is probably content with its decision to prioritize Bregman over Devers for now, but if he leaves in a few months for greener pastures, Red Sox fans will feel a certain type of way. Ironically, Giants fans might feel a certain type of way about being stuck with Devers.