Rafael Devers' Giants Jersey, New Number Revealed in Photo After Red Sox Trade
Ahead of his much-anticipated debut with the San Francisco Giants, Rafael Devers' new threads and jersey number have been revealed.
The Giants unveiled Devers' No. 16 jersey after their stunning trade to acquire the three-time All-Star from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
He showcased the uniform during his introductory press conference Tuesday.
Devers used No. 11 for his entire tenure with the Red Sox, but that number has been retired by the Giants in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell.
The Giants sent Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs III and Jose Bello to Boston in exchange for Devers.
Even though there seemed to be some cracks in the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox this season due to his unwillingness to change positions, trading him in mid-June wasn't something anyone saw coming.
The timing of the deal is even more strange because the Red Sox were coming off a three-game sweep over the New York Yankees this past weekend that moved their winning streak to six games overall and into the final wild-card spot in the AL.
On the other side, the Giants' front office was finally able to land the big bat they have been chasing for a long time. Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Shohei Ohtani are among the notable free agents they have missed out on in recent years.
Correa actually agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with San Francisco in December 2022, but it fell apart due to a disagreement over the results from his physical.
The Giants have continued to spend money despite not landing the biggest fish in the free-agent pool. They gave Matt Chapman and Willy Adames lucrative contracts last year, but their lineup was still missing a true game-changing talent.
Devers can be that player for San Francisco. The 28-year-old has the highest OPS+ of his career this season (153) thanks to a .272/.401/.504 slash line with 15 homers in 73 games. He also owns a .303/.382/.573 slash line in 26 career playoff games.
San Francisco hasn't officially announced when Devers will debut for the team. It could happen as soon as Tuesday when the Giants open a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians at Oracle Park.
The Giants enter Tuesday with a 41-31 record, just 2.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. They are currently the No. 2 wild-card team in the NL.
