Dodgers Future Hall of Famer Reacts to Shocking Giants Trade for Rafael Devers

No batter has faced Clayton Kershaw more times than former San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey. No pitcher has faced Posey more than Kershaw.

Posey, for the record, owns a career .221 batting average and three home runs against Kershaw in their 120 plate appearances.

Posey is done trying to beat Kershaw in the batter's box, but he struck a huge blow against the rest of the National League from the Giants' front office Sunday.

The first-year president of baseball operations acquired disgruntled star third baseman Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks and two minor leaguers. Kershaw was mic'd up for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball game between the Dodgers and Giants — a game Harrison was scheduled to start.

The occasion of the trade made for a perfect in-game talking point.

"Good for Buster. He’s going for it,” Kershaw said during his in-game interview with the ESPN booth. “It makes them better, for sure.”

Kershaw learned in real time which players the Giants gave up to acquire Devers. He didn't need to know much about the minor league players involved to declare the Giants a better team "right now" as a result of the trade.

"I consider Raffy one of the top 10 hitters in the game at worst," Kershaw said.

Incidentally, Kershaw and Devers have never faced each other head-to-head in a game.

Kershaw wondered aloud what position Devers would play in San Francisco. That question was answered Tuesday, when Giants manager Bob Melvin revealed he planned to use Devers at designated hitter against the Cleveland Guardians, with the potential to play first and third base, as well.

Devers said he was open to playing anywhere in San Francisco — a marked contrast to the end of his tenure in Boston.

The trade added some spice to a rivalry that has now seen three of the star players from Boston's last World Series run in 2018 land in the National League West: Mookie Betts with the Dodgers, Xander Bogaerts with the Padres, and Devers with the Giants.

Devers adds pop to a Giants lineup that has never seen a player hit 30 home runs since 2005 — the entire span of Kershaw's career, and almost as long as that of Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (who debuted on July 4, 2005).