Giants Newest Addition Rafael Devers is Key Player for Franchise in Second Half

The San Francisco Giants headed into the All-Star break as one of the biggest surprises in baseball, with the team over .500 and contending for a playoff spot.

Coming into the year, expectations weren’t that high for the Giants. This was a team that lost some significant talent in the offseason, like Blake Snell, and the only two notable moves were bringing in Willy Adames and Justin Verlander.

Despite the strong record, neither of those signings has been particularly good so far. Adames has struggled to get going offensively, and Verlander had yet to record a win going into his start on Friday.

More News: Giants Must Get More Production From Rafael Devers in Second Half of the Season

However, San Francisco has found ways to win with the best bullpen in baseball and a great duo at the top of the rotation.

The Giants are certainly a team that could be set for some improvements in the second half with some of their key players like Adames underperforming. Furthermore, president of baseball operations Buster Posey also got aggressive on the trade market and added another All-Star caliber hitter to the lineup.

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Maria Guardado of MLB.com recently wrote about Giants slugger Rafael Devers being the key player for the franchise in the second half of the season.

“Devers has been playing through a groin issue and lower back inflammation since coming over from the Red Sox, which has hampered his production at the plate, but the Giants are hoping he’ll be able to use the All-Star break to get healthy,” Guardado wrote.

Devers is going to be a key player for San Francisco in the second half of the campaign with his ability to change an offense. Despite a lot of drama with the Boston Red Sox before being traded, it wasn’t affecting his ability at the plate.

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With the Red Sox, Devers slashed .272/.401/.504 with 15 home run s and 58 RBI. Seeing the OPS over .900 is some elite territory and shows the caliber of player he is.

Unfortunately, since coming over to the Giants, the numbers haven’t quite been the same. In 25 games before the break, he slashed 202/.330/.326 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Devers has been dealing with some nagging issues that have likely contributed to some of the struggles at the plate, and the All-Star break came at a good time.

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As the second half kicks off, Devers will hopefully be feeling a bit better and can start to put up similar numbers to what he did in Boston. Also, getting some reps at first base would be an encouraging sign for him as well.

However, the most important thing for San Francisco is to have him healthy so he can make an impact on an offense that needs it.

For more Giants news, head over to Giants On SI.