Buster Posey, in his first year as the president of baseball operations, blew the doors open trading for superstar Rafael Devers. Posey has delivered one of the biggest trades in San Francisco Giants history, bringing in one of the best hitters in all of baseball. I discussed how important it was for the Giants to make a trade in our trade targets article, but they blew past my expectations with a trade that shocked the baseball world. It’s a huge win for the Giants, who are in a tough battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West, and they just got a lot better.Â
Giants Aquire Rafael Devers from the Red Sox
Trade Details
The Giants gave up Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs, and Jose Bello. Harrison was finding his groove recently as he jumped back into the rotation and his fastball returned to the high 90s. But there was a reason they didn’t have him on the opening day roster: Posey and the Giants front office didn’t view Harrison as a pitcher who’d be a long-term answer and sold once he showed some positive attributes. Hicks on the other hand, is a failed experiment at turning a reliever into a starting pitcher, so the Giants are happy to get off his $44 million contract in this exchange.Â
Tibbs is the true loss here; the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft had a lot of potential. He was the 4th-ranked prospect in the Giants’ farm system, and a lot of scouts were enamored with his offensive potential as a lefty bat. But the Giants had the opportunity to get one of the best left-handed hitters in baseball right now, compared to what could be a couple of years down the line in Tibbs.Â
Overall, the Giants should come away extremely happy with the pieces they gave up in return for Devers. They didn’t have to send away Hayden Birdsong or Bryce Eldridge, the two young guys they value the most. A huge win for the Giants’ regime, which is jumping on this elite start to try and compete for a World Series.Â
Rafael Devers is a STAR
Devers walks into Oracle Park as the Giants’ best hitter since Barry Bonds. Devers has multiple seasons with over 30 home runs and is on pace this year to hit over 30 home runs again. If he continues on pace in a Giants jersey, he’d break the streak of over 21 years of no Giants hitters to hit over 30 home runs in a season.Â
What makes Devers so good is his ability to hit the ball extremely hard. He ranks in the 96th percentile in both hard hit percentage and average exit velocity. He has an expected slugging percentage of .524, which is easily the highest on the team. The Giants pulled in a legitimate power hitter, who has added another aspect to his approach this season, the ability to walk. Currently, Devers is in the 99th percentile in walk percentage, which is insane; it’s led him to having a .401 on-base percentage. Devers is the best power hitter on the roster and the best at getting on base; he’s truly one of the most special hitters in the MLB.Â
The adjustment to Oracle Park shouldn’t be a problem for him either. What is known as a tough park for hitters isn’t a problem for his profile. He has the pop to send those balls over the treacherous right field wall of Oracle Park, which is the shortest foul pole in the National League at 309 feet, and is only longer than Fenway Park’s right field pole. So the balls he’s pulling will still be home runs at Oracle Park.
The biggest difference will be the doubles he hits off the green monster in left field; some of those will now be outs. This could cause a small dip in Devers’ numbers, but overall, he should be just fine as a lefty in Oracle Park.Â
Time to win now
Posey pushed in his chips to bring in a superstar to try and win now. The Giants are currently two games back from the Dodgers and have a shot at repeating 2021 and winning the NL West once again. With this move for Devers, they’ve improved the offense tenfold to follow up behind their elite pitching staff. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes, but the Giants just got a lot better.Â
Main Image: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
