After a rough start, Rafael Devers turned into a star for the San Francisco Giants in 2026.
The San Francisco Giants’ arduous 2026 season came to an end on Sunday with a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was the final nail in a five-game losing streak to conclude the season.
San Francisco finished with a 64-98 record, its worst since the 2017 season. In the coming months, the Giants will need to make adjustments to ensure a better outcome.
There were changes that came at the Trade Deadline in August that saw the departure of talented players such as Heliot Ramos, Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray. However, others such as Rafael Devers, remained on the roster.
Given the commitment the Giants made to Devers when they acquired him from the Boston Red Sox in a trade in 2025, was his individual performance good enough in 2026 despite the collective results?
Grade: A-minus
The start to Devers’ season was less than ideal, and it added insult to injury in a bad start for the team overall.
Devers’ first five games of the season in March concluded with a .263 batting average, a .333 on-base percentage, a .316 slugging percentage and a .649 OPS. Through 26 games in April, the results were much worse.
Over that span, Devers’ slash line plummeted to .196/.231/.284 and a .515 OPS. His frustration was clear, and questions about his future began to swirl.
However, he soon turned into the All-Star-caliber player the Giants traded for in the first place.
In May, Devers’ slash line shot up to .306/.356/.593 with a .949 OPS. He was becoming himself again, and even when his numbers dipped again in June, they never fell to an egregious mark.
Devers’ best days came in August and the first part of September before his season was cut short by a core muscle injury that compelled a trip to the 60-day Injured List. Before then, he was unstoppable.
Through 28 games in August, Devers slashed .272/.375/.553 with a .928 OPS and eight home runs. Over 10 games in September before he went on the IL, Devers slashed .342/.457/1.000 with a whopping 1.457 OPS and seven homers.
Devers finished the season with 37 home runs, one short of tying his career high 38 he reached in 2021 as a member of the Red Sox. He was playing at the peak of his powers with the bat in his hands, which makes it very likely he could have set a new personal best.
