Giants Acquire Rafael Dever Giants Acquire Rafael Dever

In a shocking mid-June blockbuster, the Giants have acquired star slugger from the Red Sox in exchange for right-hander , left-hander ,outfield/first base prospect and right-handed pitching prospect . The teams subsequently announced the trade, and the Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester. The Giants will absorb the remainder of Deverss contract in its entirety as part of the deal. Its a stunning move that will have ma sive implications for both franchises as they both pursue their first playoff appearances since 2021 this year. The Red Sox, 37-36 after sweeping the division-leading Yankees this weekend, part with a player they signed to be the next face of their franchise just two years ago. The relationship between the two sides Marco Belinelli Jersey broke down quite publicly over the past few months, however. Devers has long made clear that he wants to play third base on a regular basis, but the Red Sox clearly had other plans this offseason as they sought to add a big right-handed bat to their lineup. After discu sing a deal that wouldve sent to Boston with the Cardinals earlier in the winter, they ultimately pivoted and signed to a three-year, $120MM pact that affords him the opportunity to opt out following the 2025 and 26 seasons. That proved to be the end of Devers time at third base, and though he initially resisted the move he eventually took up his new role as Bostons regular DH. That seemed to settle the controversy at first despite reports that indicated Devers after the Bregman deal, but tensions erupted once again when was sidelined by knee surgery that will likely end his 2025 season. At that time, Chief Baseball Officer asked Devers to move to first base to cover for the lo s of Casas, a move that would have opened up DH at-bats for another player such as top prospect . Devers with team leadership for asking him to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, ultimately leading to a between Devers, manager , and club owner John Henry last month. Since then, neither Devers nor Red Sox bra s have spoken to the media about the situation beyond to affirm that Devers would remain the clubs DH going forward. Thats remained the case even in the weeks since Bregman went down with a that figures to sideline him until late July at the earliest. The discord between the sides over the past few months surely served as a catalyst for todays shocking blockbuster from Bostons perspective. Although reports that Devers did not ultimately request a trade, writes that the slugger is said by friends to be pleased with the change of scenery. For a club thats under-performing expectations this year but remains on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, moving on from a star player who was clearly unhappy could serve to improve morale going forward. Of course, there are plenty of on-the-field justifications for making this trade as well. Boston is in dire need of pitching help, and the additions of Harrison and Hicks will go a long way to patching those holes. The two hurlers have pitched both out of the rotation and in relief this year as dictated by the needs of San Francisco, so its not entirely clear which roles they will take up now that theyre headed to Boston. Harrison, 24 in August, projects as a starter long-term and has a 4.91 ERA with a 4.22 FIP acro s four starts in the majors this year. Hicks, meanwhile, spent most of his career as a reliever in St. Louis before signing with the Giants as a starter in free agency. His time with the Giants has been fairly mixed as hes bounced between the rotation and bullpen, and this year he has a 6.47 ERA acro s 48 2/3 innings of work despite fantastic peripherals including a 3.59 FIP. Regardle s of what roles those arms end up playing for the Red Sox, it could be a considerable boost to a Boston pitching staff that has struggled to find much stability outside of southpaws and this year.Hicks could fill the role of right-handed, late-inning complement to Chapman that the Red Sox were rumored to be seeking over the winter before settling for a combination of and (both of whom are presently on the injured list) to support Chapman. Harrison, meanwhile, is headed to Triple-A in the short-term but is a high-upside depth option who Boston could turn to if anyone in their current rotation mix gets injured or begins to struggle. While neither is likely to help the Red Sox in 2025, the value of the two prospects in the deal cannot be ignored either. Tibbs, 22, was San Franciscos first-round pick in last years draft and has looked excellent at the High-A level this year with a .245/.377/.480 slash line that features nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Ranked as San Franciscos #4 prospect prior to the trade according to , Tibbs has above-average hit and power tools and was lauded for his swing decisions at Florida State, where he slashed a comical .363/.488/.777 in 66 games last year. As for Bello, the 20-year-old is unranked at MLB Pipeline after making just one stateside appearance last year but signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2023 season and has struck out an eye-popping 41.8% of his opponents acro s 18 innings in rookie ball this year. The pair should be a major infusion of high-upside talent for a system that has been depleted over the past few months by the Crochet trade and the graduations of Anthony, , and to the big leagues. For the Giants, acquiring Devers is a franchise-altering decision that doubles as a major vote of confidence in a 41-30 ballclub that has exceeded all preseason expectations to this point. A career .279/.349/.509 hitter whos still just 28 years old, Devers is an elite hitter whos still in his prime. This years move to a full-time DH may even be bringing out the best in the slugger, as hes posting a career best 145 wRC+ so far despite a deep slump earlier in the season after spending most of Spring Training working his way back from a shoulder injury. Since May 1, Devers has posted an even better 170 wRC+. That makes him the eighth-best hitter in the entire sport since that date, and it goes without saying that sort of offensive production could be transformational for a San Francisco team that ranks 20th in the majors this year with a 95 wRC+. Adding a bat of that caliber to a somewhat middling offense is virtually a no-brainer for San Francisco, particularly when the acquisition cost is a pair of prospects still far from the majors and two pitchers who have posted below-average results this year. Harrison and Hicks, valuable as they could be in the future, were ultimately luxury items for a Giants pitching staff that currently ranks as the third-best in baseball by ERA and should receive reinforcements in the relatively near future when returns from the injured list. Arguably, the most substantial cost of the trade from San Franciscos perspective is the financial burden theyre a suming in the deal. that Devers is due to a $2MM a signment bonus from the Giants, though thats obviously a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $250MM the 28-year-old is owed acro s the eight-and-a-half years remaining on his contract, which is set to expire following the 2033 season. A portion of that money is deferred beyond the lifetime of the contract, but its still a ma sive financial burden for the Giants to take on going forward. That financial outlay will leave plenty of pre sure on Deverss bat to remain among the best in the league going forward, particularly given that hes unlikely to return to his old stomping grounds of third base in the long-term. Incumbent third baseman is currently on the injured list due to a thats expected to sideline him for at least a few weeks, but as one of the sports best defenders at the hot corner its difficult to see Devers getting any more than occasional time at his longtime position once Chapman is back in the lineup. First base is relatively open for the time being, but between Deverss known reluctance to learn the position on the fly and the looming presence of top prospect at Triple-A its hard to see him making a home for himself at that position in San Francisco, either. Even if Devers seems ticketed to spend the next eight-plus years as a pricey DH for the Giants, its difficult to criticize the move from San Franciscos perspective. After all, the organizations difficulties wooing offensive talents are well-documented. Failed attempts to court players like , , , and to the city over the past decade have created a reputation surrounding the club that they struggle to attract top offensive talents, and while recent deals for Chapman and have helped to put that narrative to bed somewhat its still understandable that president of baseball operations would turn to the trade market to land a middle-of-the-order force rather than pursue a top free agent and risk coming up empty. Thats especially true given that Deverss contract looks fairly reasonable compared to some more recent deals, even for a player with limited defensive value. Setting aside s $765MM megadeal with the Mets from this past winter, even s 14-year, $500MM contract extension with the Blue Jays earlier this season makes Deverss deal look like a steal by comparison. With Devers presumably settling into a DH role for the Giants, that leaves some combination of , , and to handle first base for San Francisco going forward. Flores had been acting as the clubs everyday DH this year with Smith and Encarnacion in a platoon at first base, but Flores has plenty of experience at first himself and the Giants are unlikely to be interested in dropping his 112 wRC+ bat from their lineup. As for the Red Sox, its unclear how they will replace Devers in their lineup in the short-term. The eventual return of from an oblique strain should allow them to move Anthony to DH in Deverss place, but its at least theoretically po sible the club could turn to to fill the short-term gap. Yoshida has spent the entire season on the injured list as he recovers from shoulder surgery that has not impacted his ability to hit but has left him unable to throw. That made him a tough fit for a Red Sox lineup that had Devers entrenched at DH, but perhaps the stars departure could open the door for Yoshida to return earlier than previously expected. first reported that Devers had been traded to San Francisco, as well as the inclusion of Hicks and Harrison in the deal. reported that two minor leaguers would be headed to Boston alongside Hicks and Harrsion, as well as the Giants would take on Deverss contract. those as Tibbs and Bello. first reported that Harrison was being optioned to Triple-A. LaMarcus Aldridge Jersey