In a shocking mid-June blockbuster, the Giants acquire Star Slugger Rafael Devers From the Red Sox in exchange for right-handed Jordan Hicks,left handed Kyle Harrisonoutfield/first base prospect James Tibbs and right-hand pitching prospect Jose Bello. The team then announced the deal, with the Red Sox picking Harrison as Triple-A Worcester. As part of the deal, the Giant will absorb all the rest of the Devers contract.
It’s an amazing move that will have a huge impact on both franchises as they both compete in the playoffs for the first time this year. The Red Sox signed a 37-36 player after sweeping a handful of Yankees this weekend, signing a player with the next two years ago. However, over the past few months, the relationship between the two sides has publicly collapsed. Devers has long made it clear that he wants to play third base regularly, but in the offseason, the Red Sox obviously had other plans as well as trying to add a big right-handed bat to their roster. After discussing a sent transaction Nolan Arenado Early in winter Alex Bregman After 2025 and 26 seasons, he has the opportunity to opt for a three-year, $120mm covenant, which gives him a chance to opt out.
It turned out to be the end of Devers at third base, and despite his initial resistance to the move, he ended up taking on a new role in Boston’s regular DH. Despite reports that Devers considered Bregman’s deal and asked for a deal, it seemed that the dispute had just begun to be resolved, but tensions broke out again Triston Casas Knee surgery could end his 2025 season. At that time, the chief baseball officer Craig Breslow Asking Devers to move to first base to cover up CASA’s losses, a move that will open DH AT-BATS for another player, such as Top Prospect Roman Anthony. Devers declined and expressed frustration at team leadership for demanding him to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, which eventually led to a private meeting between Devers, managers Alex Coraand club owner John Henry last month.
Neither Devers nor Red Sox Brass talked to the media since then, except for confirming that Devers will continue to move forward. Even in the weeks since Bregman fell under heavy limb pressure, this still happened, keeping him as early as late July. The discord between the sides over the past few months is undoubtedly the catalyst for today’s shocking blockbusters from a Boston perspective. Although Masslive’s Chris Cotillo reported that Devers did not ultimately request a deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote that friends said sluggger was happy with the changes in the scenery. For a club that has performed poorly this year, but is still on the periphery of the AL field card game, moving forward from a star player who is obviously upset, which may boost morale in the future.
Of course, there are many real reasons to make this transaction. Boston desperately needs help with pitching, and the addition of Harrison and Hicks will go a long way to fix these holes. The two shoters have emerged from the rotation and have determined the relief this year as San Francisco needs, so it’s not entirely clear what roles they will play in now heading to Boston. Harrison, August 24, has a long-term starter prediction, with 4.91 ERA and 4.22 FIP in four games in this year’s Grand Slam. Meanwhile, Hicks worked as a reliefist for most of the time in St. Louis, then became a free agent starter with the Giants. His time with the Giants has been quite mixed as he bounced between rotation and bullpen, and this year he has 6.47 ERAs in 48 2/3 innings, and despite excellent peripherals including 3.59 FIP, he has high hours.
Whatever role those arms end up playing for the Red Sox, that could be a big push for Boston pitchers Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman This year. Hicks Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten (At present, they are all on the injured list) to support Chapman. Meanwhile, Harrison will head to Triple-A in the near term, but it’s a highly-deep choice, and Boston may turn to anyone in the current rotation to get injured or start struggling.
While neither will help the Red Sox in 2025, the value of the two potential clients in the deal cannot be ignored. Tibbs, 22, is San Francisco’s first-round pick at last year’s draft, and this year’s senior A-level looks great with a slash of 0.245/.377/.480, with nearly as many strikeouts. TIBBS was listed as San Francisco’s fourth potential client ahead of the deal, and his swing decision at Florida State was praised and cut a ridiculous .363/.488/.777 in 66 games last year. As for Bello, the 20-year-old has not ranked in the Major League Baseball (MLB Pipeline) after only showing up in Congress last year. The couple should be the primary injection of senior talent for the crochet deal and Anthony’s graduation ceremony has been exhausted in the past few months. Christian Campbelland Marcelo Mayer Go to the major leagues.
For the Giants, the acquisition of Devers was a decision to change the franchise, a major vote of confidence for the 41-30 baseball club, which has surpassed all preseason expectations so far. Devers’s career .279/.349/.509 batsman is still only 28 years old and he is an elite batsman. This year’s full-time DH move may even play the best in Slugger, as he has published his career-best 145 WRC++ so far after most of his spring training earlier in the season was hard on his shoulder injury. Since May 1, Devers has released a better 170 WRC+. This makes him the eighth batsman in the entire sport since that date, and it is undoubtedly possible that this offensive ability is a transformation for a San Francisco team that ranks 20th in professional games this year with 95 WRC+.
It’s really no slap for San Francisco to add a bat of this caliber to some level of medium offense, especially when the acquisition cost is a pair of prospects away from the Grand Slam and two pitchers who have made less than average this year. Harrison and Hicks may be valuable in the future, ultimately a luxury for Giants pitchers, currently divided into the third best pitcher in baseball, should receive reinforcements in the near future Justin Verlander Return from the injured list. It can be said that from the perspective of San Francisco, the biggest cost of trade is the financial burden they bear. COT’s baseball contract notes that Devers is due to the Giants’ mission bonus of 2mm, although this is obviously a drop in the barrel, and the 28-year-old owes his contract eight and a half years remaining, which will expire after the end of the 2033 season. Part of this money goes beyond the lifetime of the contract, but for the giants, continuing to move forward is still a huge financial burden.
Financial spending will leave a lot of pressure on Devers’ Bats to make it the best situation in the league, especially given that he’s unlikely to recover his old stop at third base long term. Current third baseman Matt Chapman The current list on the list of injuries due to a sprained right hand is expected to last for at least a few weeks, but as one of the best defenders in the sport in the popular corners, it’s hard to see Devers get more time occasionally in his long-term position once Chapman is back in the roster. First base is temporarily relatively open, but between the presence of Devers’ known unwillingness to learn stance and the looming prospect Bryce Eldridge At Triple-A, it’s hard to see him free up his home for himself at that position in San Francisco.
Even if the Devers seem to be voted in the next eight years, which is the Giants’ expensive DH, it’s hard to criticize from a San Francisco perspective. After all, the organization’s difficulties are well-documented offensive talents. Failed attempts to appear in court are similar Giancarlo Stanton,,,,, Bryce Harper,,,,, Carlos Correaand Judge Aaron Over the past decade, around the club’s reputation, they have worked hard to attract top offensive talent, and recently with Chapman and Willy Adames It helps to put this narrative to some extent, which is still understandable Buster Posey Will turn to the trade market to land the force in the middle, rather than pursuing the highest free agent and risking the empty ones. This is especially true, even with limited defensive value compared to the latest deal, Devers’ contract looks fairly reasonable. Put it aside Juan Soto$765mm huge Megadeal with past winter Mets, even Vladimir Guerrero Jr.With the 14-year contract extension with the Blue Jays earlier this season, the $500mm contract extension made the Devers’ deal look like a steal.
Probably Devers’ giant character, which leaves a certain combination Wilmer Flores,,,,, Dominic Smithand Jer Ensnatchion To deal with first base in San Francisco. Flores has been at the club’s DH this year at Smith and Encarnacion, at first base row, but Flores initially had a lot of experience and the Giants are unlikely to be interested in dropping his 112 WRC+ Bats from their roster. As for the Red Sox, it is not clear how to replace Devers in the lineup in the near term. The final return Wilyer Abreu From the tilting pressure, they should allow them to move Anthony to the DH position, but theoretically at least turn to the club. Yoshida Masataka Fill in the short-term gap. Yoshida spent the entire season from the injured roster as he recovered from shoulder surgery, which did not affect his ability to get injured but kept him from throwing. This makes him a perfect fit for the Red Sox roster that is deeply rooted in DH, but maybe the star may have left much earlier than previously expected.
Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported that Devers had been traded to San Francisco, as well as deals between Hicks and Harrison. CBS Sports’ Julian McWilliams reported that the two minor leagues will travel to Boston with Hicks and Harrsion, and the Giants will sign Devers contracts. Murray later identified those Tibbs and Bello. Hunter Noll of Beyond Monsters first reported that Harrison was chosen as Triple-A.
