The Boston Red Sox set the baseball world on fire Sunday. Out of nowhere, it was announced that All-Star third baseman and designated hitter Rafael Devers was being traded to the San Francisco Giants, as broken by FanSided's Robert Murray. The blockbuster deal included four players and full salary retention by the Giants (subscription required), per Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic.
Baseball fans, along with Red Sox fans, were left speechless after such a deal with over a month left before the July 31 trade deadline.
The feud between Devers and the organizational had been brewing for months and then boiled over into his eventual departure. The Giants needed a big-time bat, but the Philadelphia Phillies also have their own questions at third base with Alec Bohm. After the dust settled from the Devers' deal, it makes Phillies fans wonder if the club should have pushed harder to get a deal done for a top MLB talent to replace Bohm when they had the chance.
Should Phillies have regrets about not inquiring about Rafael Devers sooner?
The Phillies did their fair share of dangling Bohm in front of teams this past offseason to see who'd take him off their hands. No one took the bait, and then Alex Bregman went and signed with Boston. Maybe Bregman wasn't realistically on the table as a free agent, but other options like trading for Devers remained very much in play considering the Phillies' stockpile of prospects. It was apparent that the Bregman signing caused some hard feelings for Devers which would have given Philadelphia a golden opportunity at the time.
Bohm has been solid this year with a slash line of .285/.322/.405 and a .727 OPS, but it's hard to give the Phillies a pass when Devers was right there for the taking. The Phillies' offense has held with Harper spending time on the injured list, but Bohm has failed to be a power threat in the middle of the lineup. He's been consistent enough, per Brooke Destra of NBC Sports Philadelphia, but the Phillies likely want to to see him drive the ball with authority more often. Devers is a three-time All-Star and has finished in the top-20 in AL MVP voting each of the last four seasons. He's also averaged 33 home runs throughout his nine MLB seasons.
The Phillies could have inquired about Devers given the package the Giants sent in return, it may have only cost one major prospect to get the deal done. There's the commitment of his remaining $250 million contract, but the standard of offense remains much higher. The Phillies do have money coming off the books in 2026 so, it was financially plausible.
Devers has a career slash line of .279/.349/.510, good for a .859 OPS. He is sporting a .905 OPS and 15 home runs along with 58 RBIs this season. His 56 walks also leads the American League, which puts him on pace to smash his previous career-high of 67 in 2024.
The Phillies currently sit ninth in MLB in slugging and with the Phillies climbing back into the top of the division, extra pop would have gone a long way with Kyle Schwarber leading the club in homers with 22, but the next closest is Max Kepler and Bryce Harper tied with nine. The Phillies had a chance with Devers if they wanted it, now another NL contender in the Giants happily walk away with him.