Trading Rafael Devers Would Be Almost Impossible for the Giants

One of baseball’s biggest disappointments in 2026 has been the San Francisco Giants.

It wasn’t a busy winter for president of baseball operations Buster Posey. He bolstered his lineup through two additions: infielder Luis Arraez and outfielder Harrison Bader. The rotation got a boost (if you can call it that) from the signing of right-hander Tyler Mahle, who posted a 2.18 ERA in 86.2 innings last year.

The noise came last summer, when they acquired designated hitter and first baseman Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. The deal was a “bad contract swap,” with right-hander Jordan Hicks going to Boston, joining left-hander Kyle Harrison and prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello.

Devers promised to solidify the heart of the order, joining shortstop Willy Adames, third baseman Matt Chapman, and, eventually, Arraez. With help from top prospect Bryce Eldridge, the Giants’ lineup looked like it would be an area of strength, especially on the infield.

That’s not been the case at all. Entering play on Tuesday, the Giants had a 23rd-ranked team wRC+ (93). While better than that of Devers’ former team, the Red Sox are one of only six teams worse than San Francisco.

That, coupled with a 24th-ranked staff ERA, and the Giants find themselves 22-32, 7.5 back of a playoff spot.

These struggles have reached a fever pitch, thus creating speculation about a potential fire sale this summer.

The concept of moving someone like Devers makes sense, but the act of trading him would be anything but simple.

Stats updated prior to games on May 26.

Lack of Defensive Value

The catalyst of Devers’ falling out in Boston stemmed from his defense, or lack thereof. After spending his first eight MLB seasons at third base, Devers lost his defensive spot to All-Star Alex Bregman to start last season.

On paper, that was a no-brainer. In fact, moving Devers off third base felt long overdue, given his defensive struggles over the years. Take out his outlier 2019 campaign, where he posted 18 outs above average, he’s a career -46 OAA third baseman in nearly 6,000 innings.

And yet, that began a never-ending saga behind the scenes. While Devers eventually took to designated hitter and mashed, drama ensued when the Red Sox later approached him about playing first base.

After the trade to San Francisco, Devers warmed up to that idea. That said, he’s posted -3 outs above average at the position in his first 589.1 innings there. Bad? No, but -5 OAA per 1,000 innings is hardly good.

It’s a low-value defensive position, but it’s also a position that demands high-flight offensive production. And, well… Devers has had a dominant month of May, but overall, he’s slashing just .246/.291/.415 with a 98 wRC+ and 0.0 fWAR in 2026.

Regressing Offensive Profile

Chalk some of it up to the marine layer of the Bay Area, but there’s cause for concern about the aging curve for Devers.

The first disturbing trend in his offense is his bat speed. Since that data’s been public (2023), Devers has gone from 68th percentile, to 61st percentile, to 42nd, to 39th in 2026. Overall, that slow-burning regression is two full ticks down in miles per hour.

Bat speed isn’t everything, but for someone who’s had issues connecting with fastballs, the worsened bat speed will only make catching velocity harder, especially for a hitter with as violent a swing as Devers.

Moreover, he’s one of the biggest whiffers in the sport. Even before the bat speed dip, Devers ranked in the 14th percentile for whiff rate in 2024. He dealt with injuries in both shoulders that year, an issue that lingered into camp in 2025, but it’s a trend that’s continued into 2026.

He’s a powerful man, and he’ll likely always get his counting stats — homers and runs batted in — but what he’s doing when he’s not slugging will likely only get more worrisome.

His Body Type

It’s not a secret that Devers is a large fellow. He’s also only gotten bigger in recent years, though.

FanGraphs lists him at six feet, 235 pounds. However, questions consistently loom about Devers and his conditioning. It’s not always about his physical being, but he’s dealt with injuries on an annual basis dating back to 2021. Oftentimes, it’s in his shoulders, but he dealt with a lower-body injury for a lot of 2022.

Again, he’s a strong guy who generates lots of power. He doesn’t have to lose 30 pounds to age gracefully, but his stature is something to keep in mind if you’re a team in the market for his services.

The Contract

Now time for the elephant in the room: Devers’ contract.

For as laughable as that trade turned out for the Red Sox from a return standpoint, getting out from underneath 100% of that deal will be the ultimate win for them.

After this season, the Giants owe Devers $199.5 million for the next seven years. Sure, that only takes him to his age-36 season, but as previously laid out, he’s already showing disturbing signs of regression at 29.

Even if the Giants can find a suitor for Devers, offloading even a small portion of that deal would be a minor miracle. There aren’t many teams in the market for a designated hitter, much less one making $28.5 million a year well into his thirties.

There are essentially two thoughts a contending team will have if negotiating with the Giants. For one, there’s trading for the immediate future of Devers – the guy who got off to a slow start but, in all likelihood, will finish in the neighborhood of his career averages barring injury. Second, there’s the reality of acquiring him beyond the present moment – the player with all the red flags laid out before.

The Giants made their bed when trading for Devers last June. It made sense at the time. They were one of the best teams in baseball early on and wanted to make a big move to help sustain that success. Not only did that backfire on them in 2025, but it might be a move that holds them back for years financially.

A team that already struggles marketing itself to top-of-market free agents now has an albatross contract to contend with.