Giants To Acquire Rafael Devers

In a shocking mid-June blockbuster, the Giants are acquiring star slugger Rafael Devers from the Red Sox, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. Right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, and other players are headed to Boston as part of the package. Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports reports that two minor league players are headed to Boston alongside Hicks and Harrison. McWilliams adds that the Giants will absorb the remainder of Devers’s contract with the Red Sox in its entirety. Murray later identified those two prospects as outfield/first base prospect James Tibbs and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello.

It’s a stunning move that will have massive implications for both franchises as they both pursue their first playoff appearances since 2021 this year. The Red Sox, 37-36 after sweeping the division-leading Yankees this weekend, part with a player they signed to be the next face of their franchise just two years ago. The relationship between the two sides broke down quite publicly over the past few months, however. Devers has long made clear that he wants to play third base on a regular basis, but the Red Sox clearly had other plans this offseason as they sought to add a big right-handed bat to their lineup. After discussing a deal that would’ve sent Nolan Arenado to Boston with the Cardinals throughout the winter, they ultimately pivoted and signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120MM pact that affords him the opportunity to opt out following the 2025 and ’26 seasons.

That proved to be the end of Devers’ time at third base, and though he initially resisted the move he eventually took up his new role as Boston’s regular DH. That seemed to settle the controversy at first despite reports that indicated Devers considered asking for a trade after the Bregman deal, but tensions erupted once again when Triston Casas was sidelined by knee surgery that will likely end his 2025 season. At that time, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow asked Devers to move to first base to cover for the loss of Casas, a move that would have opened up DH at-bats for another player such as top prospect Roman Anthony. Devers refused and expressed frustration with team leadership for asking him to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, ultimately leading to a private meeting between Devers, manager Alex Cora, and club owner John Henry last month.

Since then, neither Devers nor Red Sox brass have spoken to the media about the situation beyond to affirm that Devers would remain the club’s DH going forward. That’s remained the case even in the weeks since Bregman went down with a significant quad strain that figures to sideline him until late July at the earliest. While it’s unclear if Devers actively requested a trade or both mutually decided to move on, it’s impossible to imagine anything other than the discord between the sides over the past few months serving as a catalyst for today’s shocking blockbuster from Boston’s perspective. For a club that’s under-performing expectations this year but remains on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, moving on from a star player who was clearly unhappy could serve as a catalyst for improved morale going forward.

More to come.