Rafael Devers reportedly heading to Giants in blockbuster trade

Ahead of the San Francisco Giants' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team acquired veteran slugger Rafael Devers in a shocking trade. This trade also includes a series of player moves from SF to the Boston Red Sox.

As per several reports, the Giants sent Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs, and Jose Bello to Boston in exchange of Rafael Devers. Tensions were brewing between the Red Sox and Devers since the inclusion of Alex Bregman on the team.

Devers was undoubtedly one of the faces of the franchise with a 10-year, $313.5 million deal signed in 2023. However, following the team’s offseason acquisition of Alex Bregman, Devers was forced to switch roles from a third baseman to designated hitter.

Though unhappy with the switch, he eventually made his transition to his new role until Triston Casas’ season-ending surgery. The organization asked him to make a shift from DH to first base, which he publicly refused.

The air between the two has been boiling since then, with no further comments made on any decision of a switch. The front office even took a flight to have a face-to-face chat with the slugger, but details of their conversations were not revealed.

In the end, Devers remained at his designated hitter position, with the Red Sox experimenting with their 1B role with Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro. They initially planned for Kristian Campbell to take first base, but the move ultimately fell through.

Rafael Devers in the spotlight since offseason for all the wrong reasons

Rafael Devers vehemently rejected the idea of making another switch from DH to first base in a press conference. He said the team should rather look for a suitable player in the market, as they can’t expect him to play every position.

His comments became the trending topic for the baseball world for several days, urging the front office to make their move. Manager Alex Cora later said that Devers will continue playing in DH, and they’ll look for other options for first base.

Even when the team lost their star player, Alex Bregman, to IL, Cora confirmed that they’ll not be making any switch for Devers, as they continued their hunt for a potential replacement. Now with the Giants-Red Sox move, the player will be starting anew before the July 31 trade deadline.