The San Francisco Giants are watching their big trade acquisition struggle through one of the worst stretches of his career. Rafael Devers, who came over from Boston last season, is hitting just .211 with a .547 OPS this year and has struck out 41 times in 32 games.
It’s been rough since day one in San Francisco. Devers posted a .236 average with a .460 OPS in 90 games after the trade last season, striking out 116 times. The struggles have only gotten worse.
MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan labeled Devers as someone it’s “time to panic about” in his recent analysis of struggling stars.
“This is one of the worst stretches of Devers’ career. He’s recorded a .540 OPS through 32 games this season and posted MLB’s fourth-largest drop in barrel rate (-8.9 points) and the largest drop in walk rate (-10.1 points) since last season.”
The numbers tell a story of complete offensive collapse. Devers has struck out nearly 30% of the time as a Giant after sitting around 21% with Boston. He’s particularly vulnerable against four-seam fastballs, hitting just .146 (6-for-41) with a 51.1% whiff rate.
What makes this even more concerning is his defense. The three-time All-Star has been brutal at first base with -13 defensive runs saved. When you’re struggling on both sides of the ball, there’s nowhere to hide.
That’s where the Giants’ real problem lies. Devers has seven years and $199.5 million remaining on his current contract. If he can’t turn things around, San Francisco could be looking at seven years of paying premium money for below-average production.
The Giants took a big swing when they acquired Devers, betting he’d bounce back from his Boston struggles. So far, that bet isn’t paying off. They need their cornerstone player to figure things out quickly, or this could define the franchise for the next decade.
