Murray: Giants Acquire Star Rafael Devers From Red Sox In Blockbuster
Some major news dropped Sunday evening, as Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that the San Francisco Giants are acquiring star infielder Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. The full trade sees the Giants send major league pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison as well as prospects James Tibbs (OF) and Jose Bello (RHP). Importantly, the Giants are taking on the entirety of Dever’s massive 10-year, $313.5 million contract which has eight years remaining.
Devers and Boston were seemingly at odds, as there were several reports before the season began, then again in the early parts of the year, that Devers was unhappy with how Boston was treating him positionally. There is no doubt Devers is a superstar at the plate, as the nine-year Red Sox infielder owns an .858 career OPS. The 28-year-old is off to a strong start this season as well, with 14 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a .400 on-base percentage to go along with an .894 OPS.
In exchange, Boston is getting flamethrower Jordan Hicks, who began his career with St. Louis as a reliever, and has struggled mightily on the surface this season, posting a 6.47 ERA across nine starts and 13 overall appearances. Luckily, for Boston, his 3.86 xERA indicates he is due for a lot of positive regression. Hicks, 28 years old, carries a $11 million hit to the 40-man competitive balance payroll through the end of 2027.
The second major-league level player Boston is getting is starting pitcher Kyle Harrison. Harrison, only 23 years old, only has 182 2/3 innings of major-league experience under his belt. Over these innings, he owns a 4.48 ERA and 4.56 FIP. Specifically, this season, he has made four starts for the Giants, eight appearances overall, posting a 4.56 ERA and an almost identical 4.58 xERA. Across 23 2/3 innings, he has 25 strikeouts. Given his age, he has several more seasons of team control.
Boston also picked up two prospects in James Tibbs and Jose Bello.
James Tibbs, 22 years old, was a first-round pick of the Giants in 2024. He was playing High-A ball this season, slashing .245/.377/.480, good for a strong .857 OPS to go along with 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He has exclusively played the corner outfield positions this season. The former Florida State Seminole has a career .783 OPS in the minor leagues.
Jose Bello, only 20 years old, is a right-handed pitcher that was signed as an international free agent. In the Arizona Complex League this season, Bello has only allowed four earned runs across 18 innings (2.00 ERA). Across those innings, he has struck out 28 and only walked three. He owns a career minor-league ERA of 2.97.
According to Baseball America, Tibbs was the Giants No. 3 ranked prospect while Bello was unranked. However, one would expect, with continued strong play from Bello, he would easily of cracked the Giants top 30 when Baseball America updated their rankings midseason.
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