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Are Giants Wasting Devers' Prime?
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- Are Giants Wasting Devers' Prime?
Are Giants Wasting Devers' Prime?
(© IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect)
The San Francisco Giants are coming off a 10-6 loss in a game where they outhit the New York Mets , 12-9.
Ultimately, runs matter more than hits, and now the Giants are just 58-84 here in 2026.
Rafael Devers hasn't exactly been great this season, but recently, he's proven to be the biggest difference maker in all of baseball.
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The 29-year-old is doing everything in his power to guide the Giants to victory, but he can only do so much when the pitching staff has allowed 10+ runs in four of their last 10 games.
It was a five-RBI night for Devers, marking a continued wave of momentum he's been riding since his first of two three-game home run streaks began on August 24.
Obviously, this team is nowhere near playoff contention, and at this point, they're just fighting to finish the year not in last place.
With so many star players either traded or out with injuries, Devers is all the Giants have left, but not even his heroic hot streak has been able to get them out of an all-time worst season.
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Should Giants try to trade Devers again in offseason?
The biggest issue with trading Devers at the deadline was the fact that he wasn't playing anywhere near the level needed to justify his contract.
Remember, when the Giants acquired him from the Boston Red Sox , they agreed to take on his 11-year, $331 million deal.
Devers is under contract through 2033, and while he's earning $27 million this season, that number is set to go up to $28.5 million from 2027-2033.
This is a guy who won't become an unrestricted free agent until he's 37-years-old in 2034, so there's clearly a lot of use a team could get out of him.
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The question is, can the Giants maximize his value while working through a rebuild?
Short-term, the answer seems to be yes. Devers is a quality veteran presence that can help some of these rookies , Bryce Eldridge included, get to the next level.
Devers is a three-time All-Star for a reason, and he's already won a World Series. The two-time Silver Slugger has shown flashes of that greatness once again down the stretch, so it feels like if there was ever a time to try and trade Devers again, it's once the offseason hits.
Long-term, it feels like Devers will be sticking around with the Giants, and that's a move that could eventually pay off if their rookies are firing on all cylinders and the veterans are back to 100% and can shake off this horrendous 2026 campaign.
