Rafael Devers says he is open to anything with Giants — yes, including first base

Sports

add

SAN FRANCISCO — The very expensive union between Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox became irreconcilable last month when the star left-handed hitter refused to consider the team’s request to play first base.

Now, Devers is buttoning up a San Francisco Giants jersey. The Red Sox come to town this weekend. And it’s very possible that Devers will play first base against them.

“I’m just here to give my 100 percent,” Devers said through Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros in an introductory press conference on the club level at Oracle Park on Tuesday. “I don’t put any ‘buts.’ They are the men in charge. I am here to play wherever they want me to play.”

For his debut Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians, the Giants want Devers at designated hitter and occupying the No. 3 spot in the lineup. But Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey and manager Bob Melvin communicated in a private meeting with Devers that they would like him to start taking ground balls at first base, and nothing in those conversations resembled pushback of any kind.

What changed from a month ago in Boston, when the Red Sox asked Devers to replace injured first baseman Triston Casas?

“This is a new organization,” Devers said. “I’m happy to be here. Again, they’re the men in charge and I’m here to do whatever they want me to do.”

The introductory press conference struck a celebratory tone and was attended by most of the Giants’ current roster in addition to the clubhouse and training staff. Special assistant Barry Bonds sat in the front row and smiled when Devers said just being in the same room as the all-time home run leader made him feel like a better hitter.

“Today is a great day for the San Francisco Giants and the city of San Francisco,” Posey said. “When I was first introduced to the Giants as a 21-year-old (draftee), it was abundantly clear to me that this franchise has a rich legacy of franchise players. San Francisco Giants fans love great players who have the ability to transcend generations and Rafael Devers is one of those players.”

SF RAFFY 🟠⚫️ pic.twitter.com/NDgOy781h0

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 17, 2025

Posey described a typical conversation among his staff when they evaluate potential acquisitions. After going over the scouting reports, the offensive and defensive skills and the analytics, there is often a predictable pause.

“Inevitably, some baseball speak comes up,” Posey said. “We’ll say to each other, ‘Is this guy a dude?’ It’s not something you can quantify. It’s somebody that has the ultimate feel when the game’s on the line. He’s a type of player who makes his teammates around him better. Rafael Devers is a dude. He’s been to the top, he’s won it all, and we can’t wait to watch him bring a World Series championship back to San Francisco.”

Devers couldn’t bring his No. 11 from Boston because it’s retired in San Francisco for Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell. So he held up a No. 16 jersey, saying he chose that number because he wore it in the minor leagues. “I did really well with it,” he added.

The more significant number, of course, is the 10-year, $313.5 million contract that Devers signed prior to the 2024 season. It was a symbolic commitment for a Red Sox organization that traded rather than extend star outfielder Mookie Betts and let infielder Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency.

Not even 1 1/2 years into that long-term relationship, the Red Sox effectively filed for divorce — and resulted in what likely ranks as the Giants’ most stunning, high-profile trade since they sent Matt Williams to Cleveland for a package of players that included Jeff Kent prior to the 1997 season.

The germ for the Devers trade started with Posey. Giants GM Zack Minasian recalled that he had been in touch with the Red Sox about another player — someone of so little consequence that Minasian cannot remember who it was — and brought up the name in a text chain with Posey and assistant GM Jeremy Shelley.

They agreed that the player wasn’t worth pursuing. Then Posey, who had been monitoring the reportage from Boston, introduced a thought into the thread: “Do you think it’d be a good idea to ask about Devers?”

It took nearly four weeks of negotiations to agree on the player package. In the early stages, the Red Sox insisted upon 20-year-old first base prospect Bryce Eldridge but the Giants refused to consider including him in the deal. When the talks began to gain considerable momentum, Posey took the matter to Giants chairman Greg Johnson.

Rafael Devers’ new #SFGiants teammates attended his welcome press conference this afternoon pic.twitter.com/7hUjbqrZur

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 17, 2025

The Giants already set a franchise record in December when they signed shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract. That would be dwarfed by the more than $250 million the Giants would commit by taking on the remainder of Devers’ contract. Johnson said he gave his consent without reservation.

“To put it in baseball terms, you look for your pitch, and to our group, this is like a hanging slider to get Raffy in here,” Johnson said. “This was just an opportunity that came up that was too good to pass up.”

In all likelihood, Devers will be a pure designated hitter over the arc of his time in San Francisco. Posey said that in addition to speaking to Devers about playing first base, they discussed the future of Eldridge, who profiles as a game-changing power hitter but is still a work in progress as a first baseman. It’s possible that Devers will be asked to play first base as a short-term measure. Or it’s possible that the Giants will read and react to both Devers’ adjustment as well as Eldridge’s defensive development while determining which configuration will make the most sense over the long haul.

“We see his development path as the same,” Posey said of Eldridge. “He’s going to keep (playing) first, keep developing at the plate. It’s a conversation Raffy and I have had already about Bryce and the future that we potentially see him having.”

Although the Giants are currently without Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman, who is expected to be sidelined until early July because of a sprained right hand, neither Posey nor Melvin mentioned putting Devers at the position where he has played 951 games in the major leagues. And with Chapman signed for five more seasons, the position won’t be part of the plan for Devers in the longer term.

The sparsest answers in Tuesday’s press conference were in response to any questions about Devers’ divorce in Boston. He was the last player remaining from their 2018 World Series championship team and thanked the fans in Boston for supporting him. He also thanked the Red Sox for developing him and giving him a chance in the major leagues.

What about how things ended?

“I’m moving forward from the situation in Boston,” he said.

Responding to another question, which elicited a few groans from the contingent of Giants players, Devers said, “That’s in the past. I’m moving forward. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Posey interjected: “I really like his answers, by the way.”

Devers’ departure from Boston came following multiple requests for him to change positions. He acquiesced to the team’s initial request after the Red Sox signed third baseman Alex Bregman, becoming the team’s designated hitter after protracted conversations in spring training in which the club told him that he could put away his glove for the season.

But when the Red Sox approached Devers about taking over first base following Casas’ season-ending knee surgery in early May, Devers was inflexible in his response even after owner John Henry flew to meet the team in Kansas City and attempted to intercede.

“I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there,” Devers said through a team interpreter on May 8. “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, so right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”

He also questioned Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, saying, “I’m not certain what he has with me.”

Devers was moved less than six weeks later.

In a videoconference Monday night, Breslow took on some of the blame for the miscommunication between the front office and Devers and said that the move was part of an effort to establish team culture.

“It’s the willingness to step up and sacrifice in time of need and eventually do whatever’s necessary to help the team win,” Breslow explained when asked what the team’s identity and culture should be. After a follow-up question about which attributes Devers did not fulfill, Breslow said, “I don’t think it makes sense at this point to be overly pointed or critical.”

(Top photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Lamar Jackson urges Ravens to sign ex-Packers CB Jaire Alexander, NFL MVP’s former college teammate

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Botafoguenses encontram estrela do PSG em LA e brincam: ‘Conhece o Magic Freitas?’

O Globo