The Boston Red Sox traded designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, and a pair of prospects in outfielder James Tibbs and righty Jose Bello, the teams announced Sunday.
The Red Sox are not retaining any of Devers’ contract, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The slugger has eight years remaining after this season and is owed $254.5 million over that span.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said he had been talking to the Red Sox about a Devers deal for a few weeks.
“The bat is so special,” Posey said, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s really hard to acquire this type of talent at this point of his career. It felt like this was a chance to take a shot.”
Devers didn’t demand a trade, a source told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
Boston felt that Devers didn’t live up to the responsibilities attached to his contract because he didn’t do what is right for the team, sources told Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe.
Devers publicly criticized the Red Sox and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in early May for asking the three-time All-Star to play first base after Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury.
That outburst followed another spring-training spat between Devers and the organization after the team signed Gold Glove-winner Alex Bregman in the offseason to play third base, which subsequently forced the former to become the club’s full-time DH.
The 28-year-old Devers has 14 homers with 57 RBIs and a .894 OPS over 72 games this season.
Hicks, who signed a four-year, $44-million deal in January 2024, was demoted to the Giants’ bullpen in late May. The 28-year-old owns a 6.47 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP and 43 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings this season while making nine starts and four relief appearances.
Harrison has authored a 4.56 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 across 23 2/3 innings (four starts) in 2025. The 23-year-old was San Francisco’s top prospect in 2023-2024.
He will report to Triple-A Worcester following the trade.
The Giants selected Tibbs with the No. 13 pick in the 2024 draft. The 22-year-old was the organization’s fourth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Bello, 20, pitched rookie ball this season in the Arizona Complex League.
Boston will visit San Francisco for a three-game series next weekend starting June 20.
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