Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The San Francisco Giants face a difficult decision with Rafael Devers' underperforming contract and poor defensive value.
- Three teams are highlighted as potential suitors despite the financial and performance risks involved.
- Each contender has unique motivations, from playoff desperation to roster needs, making a trade possible but unlikely.
These days I like to imagine San Francisco Giants president Buster Posey as Gob Bluth, muttering "I've made a huge mistake" to himself under his breath every time he has to watch this team play. It's not just that San Francisco is bad, entering play on Tuesday buried in the NL West standings at 17-24. It's that they're bad and expensive, with several huge contracts that have immediately aged like milk — highlighted by Rafael Devers, who may just be the worst value in the sport right now.
It's no wonder that Posey would love a do-over, with both the New York Post's Jon Heyman and USA Today's Bob Nightengale reporting in recent days that, barring a miraculous turnaround, the Giants would give serious thought to already blowing up the core they just built. There's just one problem: In order to sell, you need to find someone to sell to, and convincing a would-be contender to add $225 million or so to their payroll for a guy who can't play defense and currently has a .681 OPS is ... much easier said than done.
But hey, stranger things have happened in baseball history, and we'd like to offer Giants fans at least a faint glimmer of hope in these dark times. Is it likely that Posey can find an exit ramp for Devers at the trade deadline? Of course not. Is it possible? Well, that's a different question.
Why a Rafael Devers trade almost certainly won't happen
Nightengale reported over the weekend that the Giants "would love" to hit the reset button if they're still out of the playoff picture come late July, with an eye toward getting their finances back in order — and Devers' deal at the top of the list. But I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were a San Francisco fan.
Devers famously offers little to no value defensively or on the bases; the only way he earns his spot on the field is by hitting, and hitting a lot. Yet he's been downright awful at the plate so far this season, and at this point it really doesn't seem like that's a fluke. Devers' underlying metrics are just as bad, particularly a dreadful 33.8-percent whiff rate on fastballs and a career-worst 69.9-percent zone contact rate (MLB average is 82.6, and anything below 75 percent is generally considered a red flag). Pitchers are going right at him, and he's yet to find an answer.
Given all of that, why would a team want to invest in him — especially when he's due $226.5 million over the next eight years? In order to make that value proposition work, the Giants would have to pay down so much of that remaining money (or attach to much other prospect value) that it would make more sense for San Francisco to hold on to him and just hope for a rebound.
But let's try to find some news homes anyway. Devers is just a few months removed from a 35-homer, .851 OPS season, after all, and as deadline season nears, teams are bound to get desperate.
Potential Rafael Devers trade destinations
Philadelphia Phillies
That collective groan you hear is everyone in the greater Philly area getting ready to pelt me with rotten fruit. And yes, Phillies fans, I get it: The last thing this team needs is another bloated contract, and the defensive fit is incredibly wonky with Bryce Harper a full-time first baseman now and Kyle Schwarber firmly ensconced as the every-day DH.
Hear me out here, though. Philly needs to try something to salvage this current core and find some more offense. They also have two infielders (and some significant payroll) coming off the books at the end of the year in Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott. Would Dave Dombrowski, who didn't sign Devers to the Red Sox but did love him so much in Boston that he refused to include him in Chris Sale trade talks back in the day, be willing to roll the dice in an effort to save his own skin? If this team gets to the All-Star break mired around .500, never say never.
Toronto Blue Jays
After missing out on the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker in recent years, the Jays find themselves desperate for some more pop around Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — Toronto is currently 22nd in team wRC+ and 19th in team SLG, a far cry from the wrecking crew we saw last season. With George Springer in the final year of his contract, there's about to be an opening at DH that Devers could slot into comfortably, adding a theoretically powerful lefty bat this team has sorely needed.
Of course, Devers isn't anywhere near that guy right now, and the same caveats apply here as everywhere else; it's going to be a tough sell for any team. But Toronto is hungry to get back to the World Series, and this team isn't playing anywhere near that level at the moment. And really, what other path do they have to a star-level bat right now, considering their middling farm system and next year's barren free agent class?
Los Angeles Angels
If the word "desperate" appears in the headline, you better believe the Angels are going to show up at some point. Would this be a good idea? God no; have you seen the state this organization finds itself in right now? But it would be an extremely Arte Moreno idea, the latest in a long line of get-rich-quick schemes for a man seemingly allergic to the idea of building responsibly.
The Angels have very little money committed beyond 2026 — the list is pretty much just Mike Trout. A different front office or ownership group might embrace the suck and build back better through drafting and development. But that's never been Moreno's style, and if there's a big name available, he'll always be in the mix.
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