Leading Baseball Insider Gives Surprising Rating for Controversial Devers Trade

The San Francisco Giants were expected to be patient ahead of the MLB trade deadline—then they shocked the baseball world with a blockbuster trade for designated hitter Rafael Devers.

Despite holding the last AL Wild Card spot two days later, the Boston Red Sox sent Devers to the Giants for right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III, and minor league right-handed pitcher Jose Bello.

The trade that sent shockwaves came out of nowhere Sunday, and it seemed a bit lopsided, indicating an irreparable relationship with the disgruntled slugger that San Francisco absolutely capitalized on.

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Longtime insider David Schoenfield with ESPN graded the trade for each party, and the Giants are unquestionably better off than the Red Sox.

San Francisco received an A- for the stunning trade for Devers.

“The Giants have been looking for that big middle-of-the-order hitter for years, from Bryce Harper to Aaron Judge to Shohei Ohtani. Now they have one and didn't surrender any of the pitchers on a staff that ranks third in the majors in ERA. The National League West race—and the Giants were just a game back of the Dodgers at trade time—just got a lot more interesting,” Schoenfield wrote.

The last San Francisco Giant to hit 30 home runs in a season was Barry Bonds in 2004, and he recorded over 30 homers in 14 seasons of his 22-year career.

Devers has reached that three times in his nine-year career, most recently in 2023. The most recent Giants player to reach that is shortstop Willy Adames in 2024, but he’s not close to playing like that.

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Devers, on the other hand, brings much-needed slugging. Entering play on June 17, he’s slashing .272/.401/.504 with a 153 OPS+, 15 home runs, 58 RBI, and 76 strikeouts to 56 walks.

His 56 walks are the second-most in baseball. San Francisco’s second-highest OPS+ is Heliot Ramos’ 137.

That doesn’t make Devers a perfect player, as he was moved to DH from third base for a reason. He had -9 defensive runs saved and 12 errors in 2024.

However, that’s not a problem in San Francisco with five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. Devers may slot in while he remains sidelined.

Schoenfield highlights the dire situation at first base, noting that Devers’ relationship with Boston has deteriorated due to his refusal to transition to that position. He’s most likely to slot in at DH and move Wilmer Flores to first.

The black eye of the trade, if there is one, is the monster contract the Giants must absorb, as he’s on the second year of a 10-year deal that runs through 2033. That’s a lot of capital for a DH. But if he can consistently hit, that’s precisely why the move was made.

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The last consideration is the move to Oracle Park, which is known to be a factor in why the franchise hasn’t seen a 30-homer hitter since Bonds.

Intriguingly, Devers might see a drop in his average but may actually hit more home runs with the Giants, as seen in this graphic shared by MLB.com’s Sarah Lang that shows several of his doubles going for homers at Oracle Park.