Ex-Red Sox Slugger Rafael Devers Officially Over Slow Start With Giants

When the San Francisco Giants acquired Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on June 15, they were hoping he would boost their offense. After all, he’s been one of the best hitters in baseball since debuting in 2017 and was off to a strong start this season.

Devers initially struggled with his new team, however, failing to provide the impact they were looking for. From June 17 through the end of August, he batted just .219/.327/.365 with four home runs, 15 RBI, 30 hits and 50 strikeouts in 37 games.

The Giants were one of the worst teams in baseball during that time, going 13-24 and falling out of contention in the NL West.

Fortunately for San Francisco, Devers caught fire in August, finally turning his season around and giving the lineup a much-needed spark. Since Aug. 1, he’s batting .295/.397/.625 with 11 homers, 23 RBI and 23 runs in 30 games, reclaiming his status as one of the game’s top sluggers.

After homering in his last three games, Devers now has as many long balls with the Giants (15) as he did with the Red Sox this year, despite playing six fewer games with San Francisco. The three-time All-Star is officially back on track.

Unfortunately for the Giants, it’s likely too late to save their season. At 70-69, they enter play on Wednesday five games out of the third NL wild card spot with only 23 games remaining — a near-insurmountable deficit. According to FanGraphs, San Francisco’s odds of making the playoffs are just 2.3% (by comparison, Boston has 98.2% odds).

The 28-year-old Devers is under contract through 2033, so it’s encouraging for the Giants that his bat has come around. If only he’d hit like this in June and July, their postseason chances would look much better.