Red Sox trade Rafael Devers to the Giants in a stunning blockbuster deal

In an absolute stunner, the Red Sox have traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.

Boston is reportedly acquiring pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, minor league outfielder James Tibbs, and minor league pitcher Jose Bello to complete the blockbuster.

The Giants are also reportedly assuming the entire Devers contract ($254 million through the 2033 season), per Jon Heyman, in the shocking swap. MassLive's Chris Cotillo reports that Devers did not insist on a trade, despite speculations since the spring.

The Devers deal comes on the heels of the Red Sox completing a three-game series sweep over their archrivals, defeating the Yankees 2-0 on Sunday, and improving to 37-36, one game over .500 since May. Devers belted his 15th homer off Yankees ace Max Fried in the game, which marked his 500th career extra-base hit.

The 28-year-old slashed .272/.401/.504 with 33 extra-base hits while recording a .905 OPS in his first season as a full-time designated hitter. He was the only Red Sox player to play all 73 games this season.

Devers, a three-time All-Star, signed a 10-year, $313.50 million extension back in January 2023. At the time of the extension, the Red Sox ticketed Devers as the face of the franchise for the next decade. The slugger's dissatisfaction with the organization quickly escalated.

The spring was filled with drama when Devers balked at the idea of moving off third base to become the everyday DH after the club signed 2024 Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal, with opt-outs after each of the seasons of the deal with deferred money. Devers reluctantly moved off third base and settled into his role as the club’s DH but was asked by Craig Breslow to play first base after the team lost Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury. He declined and called out Breslow publicly to reporters, which prompted principal owner John Henry, Sam Kennedy, and Breslow to fly to Kansas City to meet with his disgruntled star.

“In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH,” he said. “So right now I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”

Devers called out the front office leader: “I’m not certain what he has with me,” Devers said. “He played ball, and I would like to think that he knows that changing positions like that isn’t easy.”

Devers gives the Giants a star bat for the middle of their lineup and fills a need at third base with Matt Chapman on the IL with a sprained right hand. Chapman may be out until the All-Star break with the injury. Over the last couple of seasons, the Giants have been trying to acquire a big-time bat for the middle of their order, having lost out on Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, and Shohei Ohtani.

San Francisco has not had a hitter in their lineup to record a 30-home run season since Barry Bonds in 2004.

The Giants are taking on the entire Devers’ contract and have Willy Adames on the books for seven years and $182 million and Chapman for six years at $151 million.

Boston lands two pitchers who will impact the team right now in Hicks and Harrison. The 23-year-old southpaw was the Giants' best pitching prospect, drafted in the third round out of high school back in 2020. Harrison has pitched in eight games this season for the Giants, making four starts, and recorded a 4.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. He’s made 24 starts in his career but has struggled with his velocity. His fastball has seen an uptick while he was back in Triple-A, where he had been pitching out of the rotation due to Justin Verlander's placement on the IL. 

Harrison is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Worcester, per Hunter Noll. In another corresponding move, the Sox designated Zach Penrod for assignment. 

Hicks, 28, signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Giants last winter. In the offseason, Boston expressed interest in Hicks, hoping to transition him from a reliever to a starting pitcher. He hits triple digits with his fastball but has been a disappointment this season with a 1-5 record and owns a 6.47 ERA in 13 games (nine starts) with 43 strikeouts and a 1.54 WHIP.

Tibbs, 22, was the Giants’ 2024 first-round pick, slashing .363/.488/.777 for Florida State with 58 walks and 37 strikeouts in 66 games. While in college, Tibbs produced hard contact and excellent swing decisions and began to prioritize contact over power.

MLB Pipeline ranked Tibbs as the Giants' No. 4 prospect in their system.

“Tibbs offered one of the best combinations of swing decisions and hard contact in the draft,” wrote MLB Pipeline. “He has a smooth left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed and strength, giving him solid power to all fields. While at Florida State, he closed the holes he once had against breaking pitches, shrunk his strikeout rate from 32 percent as a freshman to 12 percent as a junior and boosted his walk rate from 12 percent to 18 percent. 

“Tibbs has bounced from left field as a freshman to primarily playing first base as a sophomore to right field as a junior and his first taste of pro ball. He has the solid arm strength to handle right field, though he'll need to maintain every bit of his presently below-average speed to have viable range. While his bat would allow him to profile as a quality regular at first base, Giants top prospect Bryce Eldridge plays there.”

Bello, 20, pitched in rookie ball, making eight appearances, going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA with 28 strikeouts to three walks in 18 innings. He signed with the Giants as a 20-year-old back in 2023 and offers a four-pitch mix with a fastball that has hit 95 mph with a slider, cutter, and changeup, according to Baseball America.

“Bello has a whippy arm and creates deception thanks to a crossfire delivery and a lower release height,” wrote BA. “He also shows a feel to spin and can manipulate all four of his pitches. The result this year has been 28 strikeouts and just three walks in 18 innings. Evaluators tab him as a potential middle reliever who can work multiple innings.”

Devers was one of the most productive players in team history. In nine MLB seasons since he debuted in 2017, the left-handed slugger batted .279 with 214 home runs, 695 RBI, and an .858 OPS. He ranks 10th in club history in home runs and 12th in extra-base hits, becoming one of only a dozen players in franchise history to record 500 with the club.

The Red Sox will travel to San Francisco next weekend to play Devers and the Giants.