Rafael Devers' Hitting Numbers Have Dipped Since Arriving in San Francisco

The San Francisco Giants have played five games since acquiring Rafael Devers. So far, he has yet to perform like himself in the batters box. 

In the 73 games he played before joining the Giants this season he had a slash of .272/.401/.504 which brought his OPS to .905. In his first five games with San Francisco he's shown significant drops. His batting average went to .200, with an on-base percentage of .273 and an OPS of .673. 

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Naturally, Devers is still adjusting to being with a new team. On Saturday he saw a boost with his first home run with San Francisco, along with two RBI, which contributed significantly to the Giants' win over his old team, the Boston Red Sox.

In Friday's opener against Boston he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout. He's playing primarily at designated hitter as the Giants have plans, at some point, to test him at first base. That's a position he refused to play in Boston and ultimately led to him being traded.

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San Francisco hopes that Devers' offense can help it close the gap in the National League West, where the Giants are within striking distance of division leader and defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

His career statistics show that he has a slash of .278/.349/.510, in nearly 5,000 at bats. He was traded away after two run-ins with Red Sox management over where he would play.

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The first was after the team signed Alex Bregman and installed him as the starting third baseman. Devers grudgingly accepted a move to DH. Boston's ask for him to try first base was, apparently, the final straw.

The Boston Red Sox received multiple pitchers in the deal, but he was the lone player that remained from the 2018 world championship team.

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