In stunning trade for Rafael Devers, the Giants finally land a big bat
LOS ANGELES — Run prevention was the beating heart of the San Francisco Giants' trio of World Series championships a decade ago. Pitching and defense formed the blueprint that Buster Posey executed behind the plate as a franchise catcher. They are the attributes he has pledged to prioritize now that he is the club's chief baseball architect.
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But among Giants fans, there remained an unrequited hope. It was a longing that persisted despite those three shiny trophies. And despite fervent efforts, one administration after another failed to fill the empty space.
The Giants couldn't land the big bat.
On Sunday afternoon, in a mad scramble that took place fewer than 20 minutes before the first pitch at Dodger Stadium, the Giants and Posey astonished the baseball industry. They landed the big bat.
They pulled off a stunning transaction more than six weeks ahead of the trade deadline that altered both the direction of the franchise and the state of play in the National League West, acquiring premier slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox for left-hander Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello. In addition to the cost in talent, the Giants are taking on a massive financial commitment — the 8 1/2 years and roughly $255 million that remains on Devers' 10-year, $313.5 million contract — while betting that the 28-year-old left-handed hitter will be the lineup presence they've long sought.
Devers offers little, if any, defensive value. The Giants aren't even sure where he will agree to play. It's entirely possible that they just locked themselves into shelling out around $30 million per season through 2033 for a full-time designated hitter. But pitching and defense aren't the only methods to make memories. Before the Giants won those championships, their fans had a pretty good time watching Barry Bonds put on a show.
Devers is not Bonds. But the bat was compelling enough. And clearly, Posey was paying attention in recent years during all the failed dalliances to acquire Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper, among others.
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'I just think the bat's so special,' Posey said on a conference call with reporters following the Giants' 5-4 loss at Dodger Stadium. 'My thoughts are it's really hard to acquire this type of talent at this point in his career. We're obviously taking on a lot of money, we're giving up some pitching, giving up our first-round pick from last year (Tibbs), so this didn't come without a cost. But (we) felt like this was a chance to take a shot.'
So many questions remain. Would Devers, who initially balked at moving off third base to DH to accommodate free-agent addition Alex Bregman in Boston, and then refused to entertain a move to first base, agree to give it a whirl at a new position for an organization where he has a clean slate? After being the DH all season, could he be a short-term option at third base for a few weeks until Matt Chapman's sprained hand makes a full recovery? How will the long-term commitment to Devers impact the path for top prospect Bryce Eldridge, whose bat remains ahead of his first base skills at Triple-A Sacramento? If Devers is a pure DH, will it limit opportunities for Wilmer Flores, who leads the team with 51 RBIs?
Posey did not have immediate answers. He said he hadn't spoken to Devers and hadn't reached any understanding with him about a defensive role.
'I don't know,' Posey said. 'Some of it's just conversations with (Red Sox GM) Craig Breslow and him saying that some of the stuff that's been in the media was a bit unfortunate. It's hard to say. The reports that I've gotten from other people across the industry are that Raffi is a great teammate, loves to play the game, and (I'm) excited to be able to have those conversations with him and figure out how he's going to best fit into our lineup defensively and offensively.'
Giants manager Bob Melvin said he was aware of the drama with Devers in Boston but not familiar with the minutiae. Mostly, the manager echoed Posey: the bat plays anywhere.
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'There's a lot you have to give up for him, but this fits us perfectly,' Melvin said. 'It's a power left-handed bat, a guy who can go the other way and hit for power in our ballpark. It's tailor-made for us. So kudos to the front office to swing this. … To get it done right now for a team lacking a left-handed bat and lacking power, this should be a huge boost for us.'
San Francisco, get ready for Raffy 👀 pic.twitter.com/acHEwNfzmz
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 16, 2025
Devers was batting .271/.400/.494 with 14 home runs and had drawn an AL-most 55 walks. He has topped 30 home runs in a season three times — an important factlet for Giants fans who haven't cheered a 30-home run hitter since Bonds in 2004 — and led the league with 54 doubles in 2019. Over three career postseason series, Devers has a .955 OPS and has hit eight home runs in 89 at-bats.
'Our ballpark is kind of similar to Fenway, where the ball travels to left field,' Melvin said. 'A left-handed hitter who can hit the other way in our ballpark, there's something to that. And the fact he walks and gets on base shows he tracks the ball a little longer. That's why he can hit to left field. Then you look at his numbers in his postseason, he hits good pitching — there's just a lot to like about this guy.'
Giants first baseman Dom Smith, who played with Devers in Boston last season, offered a glowing endorsement of his former teammate.
'The thing I admired is he wanted to play every day,' Smith said. 'He's a grinder. He doesn't want a day off. He wants to play against the elite pitchers and be in the big moments and he wants to win. It's been a crazy last few hours, but we got a really, really, really talented ballplayer right in his prime, and I can't wait to see how many balls he'll hit in the cove.'
Giants shortstop Willy Adames, who has known Devers since at least 2015, expressed confidence that the drama in Boston won't follow him to San Francisco.
'From what I know, he wants people to communicate with him and be honest,' Adames said. 'I feel like with Buster, that's all we get. Buster is a super honest guy. He's going to be straight up and (Devers is) going to be comfortable here, I know.
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'I'm so happy I don't know how to describe it. I didn't even stretch today. I was so excited, I was like, `Let's go.''
Posey said he initiated trade conversations with Breslow several weeks ago, and enough momentum has built in the past few days to get ownership involved. Giants GM Zack Minasian communicated with Breslow's top lieutenants to agree on the players headed to Boston. There was just one problem as the agreement neared the finish line. Harrison was scheduled to start Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
'Was there trepidation? Sure,' Posey said. 'I mean, it wasn't ideal to be on Harrison's day. But (we) felt like with the momentum, it was an opportunity to get this done, and it's fortunate that it did come together. We're all obviously very excited about adding one of the best hitters in all of Major League Baseball to our lineup. At the same time, giving up a young starting pitcher in Kyle Harrison is not easy. … It wasn't a decision that came lightly, but one that we all felt as a group was extremely impactful for the San Francisco Giants.'
Harrison had gone to the bullpen and was about to begin his pre-start routine when he received word to report back to the clubhouse. That was the first clue to Giants players that something was going down. Then Melvin called Hicks into his office. All of this was happening as the players were headed to the field less than 20 minutes before the first pitch. Sean Hjelle received late word to be ready for the first inning and he took the ball for his first major-league start. When Hjelle ran out of gas in the fourth inning, he was replaced by Joey Lucchesi, despite no official announcement that the left-hander had been added to the roster. The Giants officially announced the trade at the bottom of the sixth inning.
Teammates described nobody as more stunned than Harrison, a Concord De La Salle High alum who went from preparing to face the Dodgers to contemplating a cross-country change of scenery. Harrison stayed in the clubhouse till the end of the game and Melvin was able to take him aside for a brief conversation.
Harrison, 23, represents the Giants' biggest sacrifice in the deal. He received an over-slot bonus to sign as a third-round draft pick out of high school, and after two minor league seasons racking up strikeouts, many in the organization considered him the Giants' best pitching prospect since Madison Bumgarner. Harrison struggled with shoulder discomfort and fluctuating velocity while making 24 major league starts as a 22-year-old last season, and he lost his place in this year's Opening Day rotation due to an inconsistent spring. But his fastball velocity ticked up at Triple-A Sacramento, and he moved from long relief to the rotation when Justin Verlander hit the IL with a pectoral injury.
With Verlander cleared to return to the rotation as early as Wednesday, Harrison was likely to be bounced from the rotation again. But his youth and high-spin fastball from a low arm slot continue to give him a potentially high ceiling as a front-end starting pitcher. For the Giants to part with Harrison demonstrates the organization's great faith in their other young starters — Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp, along with left-hander Carson Whisenhunt at Triple-A Sacramento.
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'I told Kyle before he left, `Go be a star over there,'' Giants ace Logan Webb said. 'I'm the biggest believer in him. He's getting to go learn from some really good pitchers … and (former Giants pitching coach) Andrew Bailey. So it's a good landing spot and I think he's going to be great.'
By adding Devers and subtracting the rest of Hicks' $12.5 million salary, Giants are adding roughly $10 million to their 2025 payroll as calculated for competitive balance tax purposes. They are projected to remain roughly $18 million below the first CBT threshold of $241 million, so it's possible that they could add more salary before the July 31 trade deadline.
The more significant calculation is in the longer term. Devers might be deferring $7.5 million in annual salary, but his contract instantly becomes the largest commitment in franchise history. And the Giants are stacking that commitment alongside the six-year, $151 million extension that Chapman signed last September and their seven-year, $182 million agreement in December with Adames. Center fielder Jung Hoo Lee is in just the second year of his five-year, $115 million contract as well.
How that position player core performs, especially over an actuarial curve, is likely to define Posey's tenure in the big chair.
'We feel really good about it,' Posey said. 'It's a group of guys that are proven that have been there. They have a track record. My hope is that these guys feed off one another. They make each other better. I believe adding a guy like Rafael Devers to the lineup not only gives you a boost from his own personal production, but just the ability for guys to talk to that elite type of hitter, watch that elite type of hitter.
'And (with) the commitments, it's going to be on us as an organization going forward to do really well in the draft and other avenues, as far as being able to develop talent through our system.'
That's a big thing to get right. There will be so many impacts and fallouts and situations to manage following the Giants' most seismic trade in a generation that it's impossible to predict them all.
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But when the bat is compelling enough …
'I don't know where he's going to hit, but I don't think it really matters,' Webb said of Devers. 'The guy's a stud, plain and simple. People that don't know Buster should realize the only thing he wants to do is win, plain and simple. Getting a guy like that is a win-now move.'
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New York Times
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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
The Red Sox called up their top prospect and swept the Yankees. Then they made a stunning trade
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