A walk-off blast reignites the debate over the star's future as the San Francisco Giants weigh Rafael Devers' declining production and massive contract.
The San Francisco Giants nearly blew another lead, but instead it was first baseman Rafael Devers who pulled through with a 10th-inning walk-off hit to secure a win.
Devers, 29, is slashing .258/.367/.561 in the month of July. The trade deadline is right around the corner, and his name has consistently come up as a player the Giants could move on from.
Fresh off a clutch 2-for-4 night with a homer and three RBIs against the Los Angeles Angels, the Giants need to take a step back and ask themselves how crucial Devers is to their success in the future.
Remember, this is a guy they acquired from the Boston Red Sox last season, and he's under contract through 2033.
That said, Devers is making $27 million this season, and he's set to make $28.5 million from 2027-2033. In no world is that contract going to be easy to move on from, but San Francisco knows he hasn't been living up to his incredibly high price tag.
Too little, too late from Devers?
Upon being acquired in 2025, Devers hit just .236 in San Francisco and put together nearly a career-low .807 OPS. Here in 2026, his OPS has dropped to .791, a number that hasn't been seen out of the Dominican Republic native since 2018.
The Giants need to take his 2.0 WAR into consideration, but it was 4.0 a year ago and hasn't been lower than 2.0 in a full season since his aforementioned 2018 campaign.
Devers is fine splitting time between playing first base and being the designated hitter, but the Giants simply aren't getting enough out of him to justify $27 million for a guy who isn't hitting the ball.
It's important to note that Devers does have four hits in his last three games, or to narrow it down even further, three hits in his last two. One could argue that's not enough of a sample size to go off of, especially since it's still so soon after the All-Star break.
Devers has also drawn three walks in his last four games, so that's a key number to get his on-base percentage up. With a .315 OBP, that's a number that hasn't been seen out of Devers since the shortened 2020 season.
This Giants team is nowhere near the playoffs, so if the right offer came along, they should strongly consider moving on from Devers' contract and focusing on the future with younger players who can replicate these numbers for far less money.
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