So you might have heard the trade heard around the world, so much so that it had me wondering if Robert Murray was hacked. Yes, the Boston Red Sox have moved Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a move that will confound many of us for years to come. In return, Boston receives Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs III, and Jose Bello. Before we get into this trade, let's talk about what has led us to this point, as the Red Sox have been in the news a lot about their handling, and Devers' handling, of this entire situation.

To put it kindly, this whole saga has been embarrassing for all parties involved, and every single person involved is at fault here in some way, shape, or form. This all started when the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, and that caused issues when Devers said he was promised the third-base job (by a former general manager/president of baseball operations, but I digress). Okay, he could go learn first-base, right? Well, WRONG, they then make him the designated hitter, which Devers didn't like. But just as things smoothed over, unfortunately Triston Casas ruptured his left patella tendon. So the Red Sox go to Devers and ask him to play first-base, and guess what? He refuses. The Red Sox basically leaked this to reporters and made a minor thing into national news, so much so that people in my personal life asked me about it, and they don't care about baseball. So now we are here, two people moving in different directions.

For what it is worth, and I know not a lot, I am happy this is over and we can just focus on baseball. BUT Netflix missed a prime content opportunity when they chose to cover last year's Red Sox team instead of this one.

San Francisco Giants

Let's start with San Francisco. They get the big-time bat their team and fanbase have been clamoring for, when they were about to sign Arson Judge, or backed out of Carlos Correa, or missed out on Juan Soto. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, until they saw a happy marriage in Boston that has run its course. The Giants pounced, and when I look at the names involved, I don't believe it.

Yes, tying up a large amount of your budget in a bad defensive third-baseman who will not age well on the defensive side is not the right move from a spreadsheet point of view. You can mention all the process buzzwords you want, and I will buy it, but Buster Posey saw a chance to get a star (even if the back half of that contract is going to be ugly) and took it. The lizard part of my brain is just asking myself, "Do you wanna know the terrifying truth, or do you wanna see me sock a few dingers?" And I say,

The terrifying truth is how ugly that contract is going to be, especially as Devers is still owed $226.5 Million from 2026 to 2033. The beauty of this is the fact that the Giants get the star they have been begging for, who since 2019 has 183 homers, which places him with the 9th most over these past six years and change.

This Giants Lineup is going to be good. When they get Matt Chapman back, this lineup could go:

Jung Hoo Lee
Heliot Ramos
Rafael Devers
Matt Chapman
Willy Adames

That is the 1-5 of a team that could try and push the Dodgers when everyone is back, and if Willy Adames shows some life that is just gravy at this point. The Giants are adding one of the game's premier power bats to a tough offensive ballpark, but Devers has the sort of power that could make any ballpark look small, and this is why they made the trade. Getting a 120-140 wRC+ bat in the peak of his powers is rare, and maybe just this once I can commend the Buster Posey regime in San Francisco.

A brief aside here, it is slightly interesting that Devers' new team happens to have one of the greatest defenders of the hot corner ever there, so his chance of playing third-base is even less.

Boston Red Sox

Now let's move on to the Red Sox portion of this whole thing, where the Red Sox got Jordan Hicks' contract, the idea of Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs III, and Jose Bello. Let's get into it, I guess.

Jordan Hicks