Immediately after the Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants trade broke, the reactions from across the league came pouring in. “Did you get hacked?” one National League executive said. “This is the Luka Doncic trade,” one agent said. “What the “f*ck is Boston doing?” one American League executive said.
That’s just three reactions in what was a night of baseball people reacting to one of the most stunning trades in recent baseball history. While the responses on Boston’s return and motive in trading Devers have varied across the league, it’s been an outpouring of support for president of baseball operations Buster Posey and the Giants.
And, really, it’s easy to understand why.
The Giants are 41-31 and two games back in the National League West. Their rotation ranks fourth in baseball with a 3.69 ERA while their bullpen ranks first with a 2.67 ERA. Their big weakness has been the offense – they rank 14th in baseball in runs scored (309) — and it became increasingly clear that the team was prioritizing offensive reinforcements ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
Why Rafael Devers is the star the Giants and Buster Posey needed to add
Devers, 28, is a franchise-altering talent. He’s one of the top-10 hitters in baseball, has 40-homer power and is capable of leading a team deep into the postseason. Pairing him with Willy Adames and Matt Chapman, as well as the emerging Heliot Ramos, makes the Giants a massive threat to the Dodgers in the division and in the postseason not just this season, but in the long haul.
Why the Red Sox ultimately moved on from Devers is obvious. The relationship frayed between the two sides, especially as Devers was outspoken privately and publicly about his displeasure about being asked to play other positions when he wanted to stay at third base. So yes, if the relationship “wasn’t going to end well,” as Red Sox legend David Ortiz stated, then it makes sense to trade Devers.
But the Red Sox had to get more for Devers. Jordan Hicks is currently on the Injured List and likely to stick in the bullpen. Kyle Harrison has fluctuated between the minors and majors and was headed to the bullpen in San Francisco once Justin Verlander returned. Scouts are mixed on James Tibbs, the Giants’ first-round pick from the 2024 draft, while Jose Bello is 20 and hasn’t played above Rookie Ball.
The Red Sox’s return for Devers wasn’t quite as bad as the Mavericks’ return for Doncic, but it’s not far off.
“This is what the Giants need and the Red Sox are, just personally, doing something lame here when the Devers contract for a major market team shouldn’t really be a motivator in any way to make a move that hurts you on the field this much when you’re a half game out of a light wild card race,” one rival executive said. “There’s just no world where Boston should prioritize dollar efficiency over obvious winning implications and paper it with moralizing about the players’ values and commitment or whatever.”
When Posey was hired to run the Giants’ front office, he said: “We’re in the memory making business.” That meant competing for championships. By signing Adames to a $182 million contract in December, the largest deal in franchise history, only to add a contract nearly double that via trade six months later, Posey has backed up his words with actions.
Devers was the Giants’ biggest splash and in all likelihood, the biggest name moved ahead of the trade deadline. It vaults San Francisco into World Series consideration and if Posey’s words are any indication, they might not be done adding on the trade market.