Article: BREAKING: Rafael Devers Traded To San Francisco Giants

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, dgalehouse said:

But isn't WAR supposed to measure his value against a replacement D.H. ? Defense and base running should not be big factors. D.H. is a different kind of job. Not to be compared to a " complete player". 

WAR gives positional value as well as defensive value (plus or minus.) DHs are not compared to other DHs in determining the WAR value. We do that.

That is one reason DHs and to some extent 1Bmen are rarely WAR leaders, and SSs are often more highly ranked than their offense seems to indicate they should be.

Take Bogey, for example, although he has never been a plus defender at SS, he was awarded value for playing such a tough position. On his value page for his career, these are his totals:

+149 Offense (+122 hitting and +27 Baserunning)

+35 Defense (-28 Fielding, but +62 "Positional")

 

[cp176]

Pretty soon the grieving process will be over and we’ll be on to something else..  I was particularly torn up when we lost Mookie but I’ve already moved on from Devers - imagine that.  He did good and now he is gone.  Yoshida to dh - he can hit.  No one seeing things clearly would ever want him to play anywhere in the field but he can hit.  Not Devers of course but he can hit.  Let s go we are playing a game tonight.

[dgalehouse]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

WAR gives positional value as well as defensive value (plus or minus.) DHs are not compared to other DHs in determining the WAR value. We do that.

That is one reason DHs and to some extent 1Bmen are rarely WAR leaders, and SSs are often more highly ranked than their offense seems to indicate they should be.

Take Bogey, for example, although he has never been a plus defender at SS, he was awarded value for playing such a tough position. On his value page for his career, these are his totals:

+149 Offense (+122 hitting and +27 Baserunning)

+35 Defense (-28 Fielding, but +62 "Positional")

 

Okay. I think I understand. It is confusing. " Wins above replacement ".  

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

Okay. I think I understand. It is confusing. " Wins above replacement ".  

Yes. The same replacement player, regardless of position, but position does matter when computing a player's WAR.

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, cp176 said:

Pretty soon the grieving process will be over and we’ll be on to something else..  I was particularly torn up when we lost Mookie but I’ve already moved on from Devers - imagine that.  He did good and now he is gone.  Yoshida to dh - he can hit.  No one seeing things clearly would ever want him to play anywhere in the field but he can hit.  Not Devers of course but he can hit.  Let s go we are playing a game tonight.

Mookie was in the offseason and then there were no games for like 8 months. At least with Raffy, it was back to baseball hours later.

[dgalehouse]

The guy who is happiest about the trade is Gerrit Cole. 

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

The guy who is happiest about the trade is Gerrit Cole. 

True.

Anthony and Campbell might be 2-3.

[moonslav59]

17 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

The guy who is happiest about the trade is Gerrit Cole. 

...and Schmidt...

OPS Against (PAs)

.975 Cole (46 most of any pitcher)

1.588 Schmidt (17 is T33rd in PAs)

[moonslav59]

This was said at the Devers presser in SF, today, but he could not say this in Boston:

“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”

[moonslav59]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

This was said at the Devers presser in SF, today, but he could not say this in Boston:

“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”

"I'm here to play wherever they want me to play," said Devers. He went on to say...

“First of all, I just want to thank the Boston Red Sox organization for signing me at 16 and giving me the opportunity to become a big leaguer,” he said via translator, Giants’ director of Hispanic Communications and Marketing Erwin Higueros. “I’m happy to be here with the San Francisco Giants, obviously happy to represent Latin America, and also happy to be able to meet Barry Bonds.”

[a700hitter]

15 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Meanwhile the team is actually playing pretty good right now.

That will not last long.

[a700hitter]

15 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

More from Big Papi:

"You cannot imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice...he almost never returned my messages."

Wow.  Pretty strange that Devers wouldn't communicate with Ortiz, who would seem like one of the first people on the planet he should be listening to.

Immaturity and he is probably a bit of a dope.

[Hitch]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

This was said at the Devers presser in SF, today, but he could not say this in Boston:

“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”

Imagine being one of his ex-teammates hearing that? Flat out refused to help the team. 

He had every right to be pissed, but to simply have no interest in helping his team because of it - he had to go.

 

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Imagine being one of his ex-teammates hearing that? Flat out refused to help the team. 

He had every right to be pissed, but to simply have no interest in helping his team because of it - he had to go.

 

Interest in helping SF but not the Sox- you know, the team that signed him to $313M.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

This was said at the Devers presser in SF, today, but he could not say this in Boston:

“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”

Fk Devers. Good riddance.

[cp176]

9 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Mookie was in the offseason and then there were no games for like 8 months. At least with Raffy, it was back to baseball hours later.

Very true - the Mookie pain lasted forever.  As a matter of fact it is still lasting forever.   

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The Giants are batting Devers third in their order?

Red Sox analytical department genius execs who never played in the majors must be laughing at the gross misuse of all-or-nothing Raffy. 

What does San Fran GM Buster Posey know anyway? Besides how to win MVP, Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, batting crown, and three World Series...

And what does Devers' new skipper Bob Melvin know about optimizing batting orders? Besides how to win over 1,600 games in 22 seasons, and be named Manager of the Year three times...

[Randy Red Sox]

On 6/16/2025 at 12:44 PM, illinoisredsox said:

He's appeared in 8 games with the SF this year; his first 4 were in relief and his last 4 were as a starter.  Since the Sox rotation is set right now (I repeat, right now), if they view him as a starter, they want him getting regular work in Worcester.  If they view him as a bullpen piece, they want him to work back to that role. 

I wouldn't read too much into it.

this trade was done for 2 reasons 1} unload the $$$ and 2} Dever's bad attitude which the Sox helped manifest

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

16 hours ago, Kimmi said:

I never expected Devers to be traded.  Despite all the controversy surrounding him this season, trading him didn't even register on my radar.  I, like the rest of the baseball world, was absolutely stunned.  Once I got over my shock and thought about it a little bit, I'm thinking it probably had to be done.  I understand the disappointment and anger from most fans for trading him though.  His offense will be very difficult to replace, and he was a fan favorite.

I was never a fan of his contract, from Day 1.  Therefore, I'm glad we were able to get rid of his contract under these circumstances.

I respectfully have to disagree with you about keeping him on the team with the diva attitude.  His selfish attitude not only hurts the team on the field by limiting their flexibility, it also harms the team in the clubhouse.  There are too many young and impressionable players on the team to allow that type of attitude in the dugout.

Again I clearly remember posters here taking the same position about Mookie.  Obviously the diva attitude was not there but poster after poster said they were smart not to put so much money into one player  I remember thinking these posters are more knowledgeble than I am so perhaps they are right, they almost had me convinced. Those same posters are very critical of the trade now and have been for a while. When the team moves a star player in his prime over money and attitude it rarely works out for the fan.

I get it his attitude pissed people off. But again teams have accepted diva attitudes from their stars for longer than we have been fans.   Yes 31 is an overpay for a DH.  But we would be foolish to believe that JH will take that money and turn that into comparable talent.  So we are left with a lineup without one bat that scares an opponent and a bunch of stiff pitchers in return for a top 10 hitter.  I know they are winning now but with this lineup that is somply not sustainable. 

Raffy was the biggest reason I watch these games, I always pay extra attention when he steps up because he has provided so many magical moments for us.  I watched him homer for the 6th game in a row so many times I can recite the call "This has never been done in the history of the Boston Red Sox"  "All those great hitters, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, David Ortiz, none of them did that" still sends chlls down my spine.

And now, like Mookie, I've be forced to watch him produce for another team while my team hovers around .500.  Fans who wanted him gone because he was a pain in the butt (after the Sox totally bungled the position change discussions), didn't run out a ground ball or didn't talk with reporters appear to be just butt hurt at the expense of actually winning something significant.    

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

16 hours ago, king koji said:

The Sox have definitely been "in transition" the last 5-6 years after winning the 2018 World Series. Right now I believe they're at 19th in Payroll AFTER the Devers trade. Had Soto been signed, and they DID try with all their might to sign him IMHO, they would be much higher.

As I see it the Sox stand to be in high contention the latter half of this Decade (2026-30) and beyond.

Not giving Mookie the Contract the Dodgers did looks to be a definite error as of right now. But let's see how it ages as Mookie's OPS has been dropping with age.

Getting out from under Xander Bogaerts can ONLY be counted as a tremendous win for the Organization. Padres could be stuck with the worst Contract in Baseball on that one.

Once these 2 guys were jettisonned I was wholly against signing Devers, as I wanted the FULL "re-build" at that point. So I can't say I'm upset at losing Devers and just about EVERY esteemed Baseball writer ranked Devers Contract as "underwater," ie: not good.

With 4 Titles under our belt, patience is something we can afford, and we will be riding the backs of our maturing young talent combined with astute Free Agent signings (Kyle Tucker?) going forward.

Good times are a 'comin (IMHO)

Again the Sox are 23rd in payroll vs revenue. And that was 2 months ago and included the Devers contract so now they are probably near the bottom.  I have no idea how any Sox fan can be OK with this.   And it's been going on for years.   

 

[mvp 78]

9 hours ago, a700hitter said:

Immaturity and he is probably a bit of a dope.

He's also part owner of the team. That's why he's carrying so much water...

[mvp 78]

27 minutes ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Again I clearly remember posters here taking the same position about Mookie.  Obviously the diva attitude was not there but poster after poster said they were smart not to put so much money into one player  I remember thinking these posters are more knowledgeble than I am so perhaps they are right, they almost had me convinced. Those same posters are very critical of the trade now and have been for a while. When the team makes moves a star player in his prime over money and attitude it rarely works out for the fan.

I get it his attitude pissed people off. But again teams have accepted diva attitudes from their stars for longer than we have been fans.   Yes 31 is an overpay for a DH.  But we would be foolish to believe that JH will take that money and turn that into comparable talent.  So we are left with a lineup without one bat that scares an opponent and a bunch of stiff pitchers in return for a top 10 hitter.  I know they are winning now but with this lineup that is somply not sustainable. 

Raffy was the biggest reason I watch these games, I always pay extra attention when he steps up because he has provided so many magical moments for us.  And now, like Mookie, I've be forced to watch him produce for another team while my team hovers around .500.  Fans who wanted him gone because he was a pain in the butt (after the Sox totally bungled the position change discussions), didn't run out a ground ball or didn't talk with reporters appear to be just butt hurt at the expense of actually winning something significant.    

"He shouldn't have listened to his mom and taken the extension! He's probably not going to sign for that much! How much money does a person need anyway?!?!?" 

[mvp 78]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

This was said at the Devers presser in SF, today, but he could not say this in Boston:

“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”

He told the Red Sox that he'd play 1b. He just didn't want to be yanked around and he wanted to be permanently made the 1b. 

[Bellhorn04]

41 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

this trade was done for 2 reasons 1} unload the $$$ and 2} Dever's bad attitude which the Sox helped manifest

You have it a nutshell, Randy.  I do think 2 came before 1 in this case.

[Bellhorn04]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

He told the Red Sox that he'd play 1b. He just didn't want to be yanked around and he wanted to be permanently made the 1b. 

I did not know this.

[mvp 78]

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I did not know this.

 

[Bellhorn04]

32 minutes ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Again I clearly remember posters here taking the same position about Mookie.  Obviously the diva attitude was not there but poster after poster said they were smart not to put so much money into one player  I remember thinking these posters are more knowledgeble than I am so perhaps they are right, they almost had me convinced. Those same posters are very critical of the trade now and have been for a while. When the team makes moves a star player in his prime over money and attitude it rarely works out for the fan.

Yes, there were and still are some posters who agreed with not paying Mookie what he wanted and/or thought what he really wanted was out of town.

Zack Scott, who was in the Sox FO back then, has said very firmly that Mookie would absolutely have stayed if they paid what he thought was market value, that there were never any indications that Mookie 'wanted out'.

[mvp 78]

And BTW, Pedro Martinez is taking Raffy's side and saying Big Papi isn't handling things the right way. 🤔

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

And BTW, Pedro Martinez is taking Raffy's side and saying Big Papi isn't handling things the right way. 🤔

Manny Ramirez has also taken Devers's side.  Could have a beauty roundtable discussion with those three.