Giants Outright Osleivis Basabe
The Giants sent infielder Osleivis Basabe outright to Triple-A Sacramento, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. He was designated for assignment last week when they selected catcher Logan Porter onto the big league roster after losing Patrick Bailey to injury.
Basabe hasn’t played an MLB game with San Francisco. They acquired him from the Rays in an offseason DFA trade and had kept him on optional assignment all year. He hasn’t hit despite the generally favorable Pacific Coast League parks. Basabe owns a .242/.287/.352 slash with four homers in 198 plate appearances. He has put the ball in play at a solid rate but hasn’t walked much or hit for any kind of power. It’s his second straight poor showing at the top minor league level. He hit .248/.293/.336 in 66 games for Tampa Bay’s affiliate last year.
This is the first career outright for Basabe, so he doesn’t have the ability to elect free agency. He’ll remain with the River Cats and try to play his way back into the MLB conversation. He’s still just 24 and was a highly-regarded prospect not long ago, though clearing waivers demonstrates how far his stock has fallen since his bat has stalled. Basabe would qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season if San Francisco doesn’t add him back to the 40-man roster before then.
Padres Select Bryce Johnson
The Padres announced they’ve selected outfielder Bryce Johnson onto the big league roster. Catcher Luis Campusano has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso as the corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Yu Darvish has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Johnson gives the Friars some extra outfield depth after they lost Jackson Merrill to the concussion-related injured list over the weekend. Campusano hadn’t been playing much as a third catcher behind Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado, so it made more sense to add another outfielder to the bench. Tyler Wade and Brandon Lockridge are likely to split the center field reps, but Johnson adds a switch-hitting bat to Mike Shildt’s outfield mix.
It’ll be the second Padres stint for the 29-year-old Johnson. He appeared in 47 games and tallied a career-high 73 plate appearances with the Friars a year ago. Johnson was non-tendered at season’s end and landed with the Pirates on a minor league deal. The Padres brought him back in April in a minor league swap for depth catcher Brett Sullivan. (Today has been less kind to Sullivan, who was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh this afternoon.) Johnson has spent the bulk of the season in El Paso, where he’s hitting .303/.407/.458 with three homers and 10 steals. He’s out of minor league options, though, so they’d need to run him back through waivers to take him off the active roster.
Darvish’s IL transfer is just a formality. It backdates to Opening Day, so it doesn’t affect his eligibility for reinstatement. It’s still not clear when he’ll be ready to return. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he made it through a simulated game on Saturday.
Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On IL With Foot Sprain
The Astros have placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list due to a right foot sprain, retroactive to June 13th. Fellow righty Jason Alexander has been recalled to take his place on the active roster. McCullers was scheduled to start today’s game but Ryan Gusto will get the ball instead. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the info.
To this point, the Astros haven’t provided any information about how the injury occured or how long they expect McCullers to be out of action. In his most recent start, he tossed 96 pitches over five innings. Up until this announcement of his IL placement, he was listed as the starter for tonight’s game in West Sacramento.
More information will presumably be forthcoming but it’s a notable development regardless. For McCullers personally, he’s looking to get back on track after a lengthy absence. He missed all of 2023 and 2024, and most of 2022, due to elbow issues. He was reinstated from the IL about six weeks ago for his first major league action in over two years. He has since made seven starts with a 4.91 earned run average, though most of the damage came in his second start when he allowed seven earned runs to the Reds while only recording one out.
Now he’s set for another injury absence. On the bright side, it has nothing to do with his elbow, though it’s a setback nonetheless. Perhaps it will turn out to be a fine reset. Since he has thrown so little over the past few years, he wasn’t going to suddenly throw 200 innings in 2025. Ideally, this will be just a minor issue that will let him catch his breath before he picks things back up.
But it will be a situation to monitor given his history and the club’s larger pitching situation. McCullers is now the seventh starter on Houston’s injured list, with the others mostly facing lengthy absences. Both Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski required Tommy John surgery in the past month. Luis Garcia has been struggling to get healthy since his own Tommy John surgery in 2023. Cristian Javier had his TJS in June of last year and could perhaps be an option later in the year. J.P. France is recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery with an uncertain timeline. Spencer Arrighetti has a fractured thumb and also has a murky path forward.
Despite all of those injuries, the Astros have been performing well, with a 41-30 record that puts them 4.5 games up in the American League West. Without McCullers, the challenge of keeping the rotation in viable shape will grow.
The Astros have Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown as two strong performers at the front of the rotation, though it now appears that three very inexperienced arms will be backing up that duo. Colton Gordon, Brandon Walter and Gusto have thrown a combined 120 2/3 innings in the majors between the three of them.
Gusto was originally planned to start tomorrow’s game but will now bump up to today. The Astros have TBA listed as tomorrow’s starter, with Valdez still listed for Wednesday. Perhaps that means there will be some kind of bullpen game tomorrow with Alexander factoring in heavily. He has been starting at the Triple-A level and could cover multiple innings.
It’s already been reported that the Astros will be looking for starting pitching help prior to next month’s trade deadline. The McCullers injury, whether it proves to be serious or not, should only add to that desire.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Yankees Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment
The Yankees announced that infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes has been designated for assignment. That opens an active roster spot for designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported earlier today. The club’s 40-man roster count stays at 39.
Reyes, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the offseason and made the Opening Day roster. He has since served in a reserve role, often as a late-game replacement. He has appeared in 25 games with 34 plate appearances, hitting just .194/.242/.226 in those.
That’s not a great performance but it’s a small sample and it’s tough to maintain quality results with such sporadic action. Him getting the DFA treatment today is more about a fairly crowded Yankee roster. Stanton taking a place in the lineup means that one of Ben Rice or Paul Goldschmidt will be on the bench most days. One of the club’s four outfielders will take up a spot as well. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra will also be on the pine most days.
That left Reyes and fellow infielder Oswald Peraza for the bench spot. Both are out of options and performing poorly at the plate this year but Peraza is several years younger and not too far removed from being a top 100 prospect, so it makes sense to hang onto him in the hopes that there’s still some future value to be extracted there.
Add it all up and it equals Reyes heading into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the club could take up to five days to explore trades. Reyes passed through waivers in September and then settled for a minor league deal in the offseason. He hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then, so it’s possible he clears waivers yet again. If he does so, he’ll have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.
He now has 606 career plate appearances in the majors with a .245/.305/.342 line and 75 wRC+. He’s capable of bouncing all around the diamond, with experience at every position except catcher. That includes five innings of mop-up work on the mound.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Tigers Claim Carlos Hernández
The Tigers have claimed right-hander Carlos Hernández off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. Philadelphia had designated him for assignment last week. Detroit had an open 40-man roster spot due to designating righty John Brebbia for assignment yesterday. Hernández is out of options, so the Tigers will need to open an active roster spot once he reports to the club.
Hernández, 28, has big velocity but hasn’t always been able to translate it into results. After working in a swing role with the Royals from 2020 to 2022, he seemed to be breaking out as a reliever in the first half of 2023. Through August 1st of that year, he had thrown 54 innings with a 3.67 earned run average, 30.2% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.
Unfortunately, he posted a 10.69 ERA in his final 16 innings that year. In 2024, he battled some shoulder soreness and spent the first two months of the season on the injured list. When he was reinstated, the Royals shuttled him to Triple-A and back. He posted a 3.30 ERA in the big leagues that year but with subpar strikeout and walk rates of 20.9% and 12.4% respectively. He also had a 5.40 ERA in his minor league work.
He came into 2025 out of options and didn’t make the Kansas City roster out of camp, which led him to the waiver wire and a claim by the Phillies. He logged 25 2/3 innings for the Phils this year with a 5.26 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. Though he hasn’t been able to execute, the stuff is enticing, with Hernández averaging just under 98 miles per hour on his fastball this year while also throwing a splitter, slider and knuckle curve.
Perhaps the Tigers feel they have a path to help him better harness that stuff. Or perhaps he’s just available when they want a fresh arm. Righty Will Vest departed yesterday’s game due to some discomfort in the pinky finger of his throwing hand, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. Perhaps he will require a stint on the injured list, opening a hole in the big league bullpen. Since the Tigers had an open 40-man spot anyway, claiming Hernández is perhaps a bit of insurance for Vest.
It’s also possible that the Tigers plan to put Hernández back on waivers shortly with the hope of passing him through unclaimed. The Tigers have the best record in baseball and therefore the final waiver priority, meaning the other clubs just passed on him. Hernández has between three and five years of big league service time, meaning he has the right to reject an outright assignment but would have to forfeit the remainder of his $1.16MM salary in order to do so. For now, he’ll report to the Tigers and try to put some good outings together for them.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Nationals Designate Juan Yepez For Assignment
The Nationals announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder Robert Hassell III and infielder José Tena have been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Outfielder Daylen Lile has been recalled while third baseman Brady House has had his contract selected. Those four moves were reported yesterday. To open a 40-man spot for House, the Nats designated first baseman Juan Yepez for assignment.
Yepez, 27, first joined the Nationals via a minor league deal going into the 2024 season. He got added to the club’s roster in July and got fairly regular playing time in the second half of last year. He slashed .283/.335/.429 for a 113 wRC+ in 249 plate appearances.
Coming into 2025, the Nats made a couple of additions to the first base/designated hitter mix, acquiring Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers and also signing free agent Josh Bell. Those moves pushed Yepez down the depth chart and he was optioned to Rochester to start the year. He has since appeared in 45 games for the Red Wings with a .199/.273/.301 line and 56 wRC+. He hasn’t been helped by a .212 batting average on balls in play but he also has only three home runs.
Yepez has some experience at other positions but is mostly just a first baseman. He hasn’t played third base since 2022 and his work in the outfield corners has been very limited. He’s not really a threat on the basepaths either. In short, he needs to hit. The fact that he hasn’t done so this year has hurt his value and bumped him off Washington’s roster. He’s also in his final option year, so he’s down to a few months where he can be easily sent to the minors.
He’s now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Nats could take five days to explore trades. He’s been a roughly average big league hitter in 588 plate appearances between the Cardinals and Nationals but this year’s struggles on the farm will naturally tamp down interest.
If he is passed through outright waivers unclaimed, he will stick with the club as depth without taking up a roster spot. He won’t have the right to elect free agency since he has less than three years of service time and hasn’t been previously outrighted in his career.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
Rays Acquire Forrest Whitley
June 16: The Rays announced today that Whitley has been added to the club’s active roster with righty Mason Englert optioned to Triple-A Durham as the corresponding active roster move.
June 13: The Astros announced that they have traded right-hander Forrest Whitley to the Rays in exchange for cash considerations. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported that Whitley was going to the Rays while Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported the cash return. The Rays’ 40-man roster count climbs from 38 to 39. Since Whitley is out of options, they will need to open an active roster spot once he reports to the team.
Whitley, 27, is a complete wild card at this point. Selected 17th overall in the 2016 draft, he put up huge numbers in the lower minor league levels as a teenager, working around a 50-game drug suspension going into 2018. His performance vaulted him towards the top of prospect lists. Going into 2019, Baseball America ranked him #5 overall and the top pitcher on the list.
He has hit a number of speed bumps since then, largely due to injuries. Shoulder problems seemed to hamper him in 2019, as he finished that year with a combined 7.99 earned run average across various minor league levels. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020. He required Tommy John surgery in March of 2021, wiping out that season and most of the following year. He got back on the mound in 2022 but showed plenty of rust, posting a 6.53 ERA over his 40 minor league innings. In 2023, a lat strain limited him to 30 minor league innings with a 5.70 ERA.
The Astros added Whitley to their 40-man roster in November of 2020, to protect him from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft. He used up three options in those 2021-23 seasons. The Astros were granted a fourth option for 2024 but the clock was ticking, so they moved him to the bullpen.
He showed some promise in that role last year. He logged 34 innings at the Triple-A level with a 2.12 ERA. His 11.6% walk rate was high but he struck out 31.5% of batters faced and got grounders at a 55% clip. He also made his major league debut, logging 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
He came into 2025 out of options and started the season on the injured list, this time due to a bone bruise in his left knee. He was reinstated from the IL on April 19th but went back on the shelf on April 27th due to a left knee sprain. He was reinstated in late May but didn’t last long before the Astros decided to give up and designated him for assignment. Around those IL stints, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings this year with ten earned runs allowed. He struck out eight opponents but gave out six walks, hit another batter and threw a wild pitch.
Whitley’s future is anyone’s guess at this point. The talent that made him the top prospect in baseball may be in there somewhere. He still averages in the upper 90s with his fastballs. But he’s now out of options and has proved so little. His major league track record consists of just 10 2/3 innings, which haven’t been especially impressive. He was good in the minors last year but has otherwise been hurt and/or ineffective.
The Rays have a strong reputation when it comes to developing pitchers, so it’s a good landing spot for him. However, they are also a contender, currently holding one of the three American League Wild Card spots. Since Whitley is out of options, he will have to produce some results in order to stick on the roster. If he does, the Rays can cheaply retain him for years to come. He came into 2025 with just six days of major league service time, meaning he can’t get to arbitration until after 2027 and isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2030 season. But as mentioned, those will be moot points if he can’t right the ship.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images
Yankees To Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton
Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton will be back in the lineup tonight, reports Andy Martino of SNY. Stanton is on the 60-day injured list, meaning he will need to retake a spot on the 40-man roster to be activated. The Yankees already have a vacancy there, so they will only need to make a corresponding active roster move in order to make this official.
Stanton, 35, will be making his season debut once tonight’s game begins. Way back in February, he reported to camp with soreness in both elbows and he has spent the past few months trying to get healthy. In March, he told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that he had torn tendons in both elbows. He landed on the 10-day IL to start the season and the club listed his injury as elbow epicondylitis, more commonly known as “tennis elbow”. He was transferred to the 60-day IL at the start of May.
He has finally been able to ramp up in the past month or so, starting with some work with the high-velocity pitching machine and some live batting practice. He officially began a rehab assignment last week, going 3-11 plus a walk in three Double-A contests.
It seems fair to wonder what sort of production Stanton can provide at this point in his career. Though he has a lengthy track record of crushing the ball with ferocity, he’s now 35 years old and injuries have become more frequent. Though he’s largely been limited to the designated hitter slot, he still hasn’t appeared in 140 games in a season since 2018. He hasn’t hit the 115-game mark since 2021. Over the 2022-2024 seasons, he struck out in 30.5% of his plate appearances while slashing .212/.291/.454 for a 106 wRC+.
He’s now coming off yet another lengthy injury absence and it’s no guarantee that his bat will be an upgrade over what the Yankees have already had in there. Ben Rice has been getting most of the DH time this year and has a .227/.311/.460 line and 117 wRC+ so far this year. Knocking him out of that spot will have domino effects.
Moving Rice to first base isn’t really an option because Paul Goldschmidt is there and is hitting .311/.371/.455 for a 133 wRC+. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic points out that a Rice/Goldschmidt platoon would make on-paper sense but that manager Aaron Boone has ruled out such a tidy arrangement, perhaps not surprising with Goldschmidt a respected veteran making $12.5MM.
The Yanks are open to Rice getting some time behind the plate but Austin Wells is hitting .224/.288/.464 for a 107 wRC+ with solid defensive grades. He has also helped the pitching staff put up good numbers all year along despite the injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and others. Even backup catcher J.C. Escarra has a .230/.333/.361 line and 100 wRC+ with good defense to boot.
Stanton does have some outfield work in his past but didn’t play there at all last year. Given his elbow injuries, he’s probably not going to be sent out to the grass. Even if the Yanks were willing to do that, they have been getting strong results from their outfield group of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez.
It’s technically a good problem to have but it will be tricky for Boone to get the right balance of finding playing time for everyone so they all can stay crisp while simultaneously trying to optimize the lineup for success on a given day, though the logjam probably won’t last long since injuries are fairly inevitable.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Braves Activate Stuart Fairchild, DFA Jose Azocar
The Braves announced this morning that they’ve activated outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the injured list. Outfielder Jose Azocar was designated for assignment to make room for Fairchild on the active roster. They also activated infielder Nacho Alvarez from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Azocar, 29, departs Atlanta after getting into just two games and making a single plate appearance during his time with the club. Azocar made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2022 and appeared in 214 games at the big league level over the 2022-24 seasons, slashing .243/.287/.322 (74 wRC+) in 397 plate appearances along the way. That lackluster offensive production wasn’t enough to earn him a regular role on the club even in spite of his strong work with the glove in center field, where he accumulated +5 Outs Above Average during his time in San Diego. He’s performed better at the Triple-A level with a career .286/.322/.434 line in parts of five seasons spent at the level, but the outfielder’s speed and defense first profile ultimately made him expendable when San Diego faced a roster crunch late last year.
He was designated for assignment in September, but found himself claimed off waivers by the Mets shortly thereafter. He managed to stick on New York’s 40-man roster all throughout the offseason, but failed to make the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training and was designated for assignment shortly before the season began. He was assigned outright to the minors after clearing waivers, and found himself selected back onto the roster in mid-April after the club lost Jose Siri to the injured list. Azocar stuck on the club’s roster for six weeks but received just 20 total plate appearances across 12 games while being utilized primarily as a defensive replacement.
He hit a respectable enough .278/.350/.278 (88 wRC+) in that limited playing time but was designated for assignment in late May to make room for Jared Young on New York’s active roster. He cleared waivers once again and elected free agency before being scooped up by Atlanta almost immediately. The Braves will now have one week to either work out a trade involving Azocar or attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he go unclaimed, he’ll be able to either accept an outright assignment to the minors or elect free agency.
Azocar’s departure makes room for the return of Fairchild, who was placed on the shelf with a dislocated pinkie finger the same day Atlanta signed Azocar. Fairchild bounced between the Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Giants for a few years before settling with the Reds in 2022. He spent parts of three seasons with Cincinnati and was traded to Atlanta after he didn’t make the cut for the Reds’ Opening Day roster. Fairchild hasn’t hit much for the Braves this year with a .182/.250/.273 line in 36 plate appearances but is a career .247/.345/.407 hitter against lefties, which should make him a solid platoon partner for Alex Verdugo in left field going forward.
Giants Acquire Rafael Devers
In a shocking mid-June blockbuster, the Giants have acquired star slugger Rafael Devers from the Red Sox in exchange for right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, outfield/first base prospect James Tibbs and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello. The teams subsequently announced the trade, and the Red Sox optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester. The Giants will absorb the remainder of Devers’s contract in its entirety as part of the deal.
It’s a stunning move that will have massive implications for both franchises as they both pursue their first playoff appearances since 2021 this year. The Red Sox, 37-36 after sweeping the division-leading Yankees this weekend, part with a player they signed to be the next face of their franchise just two years ago. The relationship between the two sides broke down quite publicly over the past few months, however. Devers has long made clear that he wants to play third base on a regular basis, but the Red Sox clearly had other plans this offseason as they sought to add a big right-handed bat to their lineup. After discussing a deal that would’ve sent Nolan Arenado to Boston with the Cardinals earlier in the winter, they ultimately pivoted and signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120MM pact that affords him the opportunity to opt out following the 2025 and ’26 seasons.
That proved to be the end of Devers’ time at third base, and though he initially resisted the move he eventually took up his new role as Boston’s regular DH. That seemed to settle the controversy at first despite reports that indicated Devers considered asking for a trade after the Bregman deal, but tensions erupted once again when Triston Casas was sidelined by knee surgery that will likely end his 2025 season. At that time, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow asked Devers to move to first base to cover for the loss of Casas, a move that would have opened up DH at-bats for another player such as top prospect Roman Anthony. Devers refused and expressed frustration with team leadership for asking him to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, ultimately leading to a private meeting between Devers, manager Alex Cora, and club owner John Henry last month.
Since then, neither Devers nor Red Sox brass have spoken to the media about the situation beyond to affirm that Devers would remain the club’s DH going forward. That’s remained the case even in the weeks since Bregman went down with a significant quad strain that figures to sideline him until late July at the earliest. The discord between the sides over the past few months surely served as a catalyst for today’s shocking blockbuster from Boston’s perspective. Although Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that Devers did not ultimately request a trade, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the slugger is said by friends to be pleased with the change of scenery. For a club that’s under-performing expectations this year but remains on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, moving on from a star player who was clearly unhappy could serve to improve morale going forward.
Of course, there are plenty of on-the-field justifications for making this trade as well. Boston is in dire need of pitching help, and the additions of Harrison and Hicks will go a long way to patching those holes. The two hurlers have pitched both out of the rotation and in relief this year as dictated by the needs of San Francisco, so it’s not entirely clear which roles they will take up now that they’re headed to Boston. Harrison, 24 in August, projects as a starter long-term and has a 4.91 ERA with a 4.22 FIP across four starts in the majors this year. Hicks, meanwhile, spent most of his career as a reliever in St. Louis before signing with the Giants as a starter in free agency. His time with the Giants has been fairly mixed as he’s bounced between the rotation and bullpen, and this year he has a 6.47 ERA across 48 2/3 innings of work despite fantastic peripherals including a 3.59 FIP.
Regardless of what roles those arms end up playing for the Red Sox, it could be a considerable boost to a Boston pitching staff that has struggled to find much stability outside of southpaws Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman this year. Hicks could fill the role of right-handed, late-inning complement to Chapman that the Red Sox were rumored to be seeking over the winter before settling for a combination of Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten (both of whom are presently on the injured list) to support Chapman. Harrison, meanwhile, is headed to Triple-A in the short-term but is a high-upside depth option who Boston could turn to if anyone in their current rotation mix gets injured or begins to struggle.
While neither is likely to help the Red Sox in 2025, the value of the two prospects in the deal cannot be ignored either. Tibbs, 22, was San Francisco’s first-round pick in last year’s draft and has looked excellent at the High-A level this year with a .245/.377/.480 slash line that features nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Ranked as San Francisco’s #4 prospect prior to the trade according to MLB Pipeline, Tibbs has above-average hit and power tools and was lauded for his swing decisions at Florida State, where he slashed a comical .363/.488/.777 in 66 games last year. As for Bello, the 20-year-old is unranked at MLB Pipeline after making just one stateside appearance last year but signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2023 season and has struck out an eye-popping 41.8% of his opponents across 18 innings in rookie ball this year. The pair should be a major infusion of high-upside talent for a system that has been depleted over the past few months by the Crochet trade and the graduations of Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer to the big leagues.
For the Giants, acquiring Devers is a franchise-altering decision that doubles as a major vote of confidence in a 41-30 ballclub that has exceeded all preseason expectations to this point. A career .279/.349/.509 hitter who’s still just 28 years old, Devers is an elite hitter who’s still in his prime. This year’s move to a full-time DH may even be bringing out the best in the slugger, as he’s posting a career best 145 wRC+ so far despite a deep slump earlier in the season after spending most of Spring Training working his way back from a shoulder injury. Since May 1, Devers has posted an even better 170 wRC+. That makes him the eighth-best hitter in the entire sport since that date, and it goes without saying that sort of offensive production could be transformational for a San Francisco team that ranks 20th in the majors this year with a 95 wRC+.
Adding a bat of that caliber to a somewhat middling offense is virtually a no-brainer for San Francisco, particularly when the acquisition cost is a pair of prospects still far from the majors and two pitchers who have posted below-average results this year. Harrison and Hicks, valuable as they could be in the future, were ultimately luxury items for a Giants pitching staff that currently ranks as the third-best in baseball by ERA and should receive reinforcements in the relatively near future when Justin Verlander returns from the injured list. Arguably, the most substantial cost of the trade from San Francisco’s perspective is the financial burden they’re assuming in the deal. Cot’s Baseball Contracts notes that Devers is due to a $2MM assignment bonus from the Giants, though that’s obviously a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $250MM the 28-year-old is owed across the eight-and-a-half years remaining on his contract, which is set to expire following the 2033 season. A portion of that money is deferred beyond the lifetime of the contract, but it’s still a massive financial burden for the Giants to take on going forward.
That financial outlay will leave plenty of pressure on Devers’s bat to remain among the best in the league going forward, particularly given that he’s unlikely to return to his old stomping grounds of third base in the long-term. Incumbent third baseman Matt Chapman is currently on the injured list due to a sprained right hand that’s expected to sideline him for at least a few weeks, but as one of the sport’s best defenders at the hot corner it’s difficult to see Devers getting any more than occasional time at his longtime position once Chapman is back in the lineup. First base is relatively open for the time being, but between Devers’s known reluctance to learn the position on the fly and the looming presence of top prospect Bryce Eldridge at Triple-A it’s hard to see him making a home for himself at that position in San Francisco, either.
Even if Devers seems ticketed to spend the next eight-plus years as a pricey DH for the Giants, it’s difficult to criticize the move from San Francisco’s perspective. After all, the organization’s difficulties wooing offensive talents are well-documented. Failed attempts to court players like Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa, and Aaron Judge to the city over the past decade have created a reputation surrounding the club that they struggle to attract top offensive talents, and while recent deals for Chapman and Willy Adames have helped to put that narrative to bed somewhat it’s still understandable that president of baseball operations Buster Posey would turn to the trade market to land a middle-of-the-order force rather than pursue a top free agent and risk coming up empty. That’s especially true given that Devers’s contract looks fairly reasonable compared to some more recent deals, even for a player with limited defensive value. Setting aside Juan Soto‘s $765MM megadeal with the Mets from this past winter, even Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s 14-year, $500MM contract extension with the Blue Jays earlier this season makes Devers’s deal look like a steal by comparison.
With Devers presumably settling into a DH role for the Giants, that leaves some combination of Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith, and Jerar Encarnacion to handle first base for San Francisco going forward. Flores had been acting as the club’s everyday DH this year with Smith and Encarnacion in a platoon at first base, but Flores has plenty of experience at first himself and the Giants are unlikely to be interested in dropping his 112 wRC+ bat from their lineup. As for the Red Sox, it’s unclear how they will replace Devers in their lineup in the short-term. The eventual return of Wilyer Abreu from an oblique strain should allow them to move Anthony to DH in Devers’s place, but it’s at least theoretically possible the club could turn to Masataka Yoshida to fill the short-term gap. Yoshida has spent the entire season on the injured list as he recovers from shoulder surgery that has not impacted his ability to hit but has left him unable to throw. That made him a tough fit for a Red Sox lineup that had Devers entrenched at DH, but perhaps the star’s departure could open the door for Yoshida to return earlier than previously expected.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Devers had been traded to San Francisco, as well as the inclusion of Hicks and Harrison in the deal. Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports reported that two minor leaguers would be headed to Boston alongside Hicks and Harrsion, as well as that the Giants would take on Devers’s contract. Murray later identified those as Tibbs and Bello. Hunter Noll of Beyond The Monster first reported that Harrison was being optioned to Triple-A.