Giants’ Rafael Devers needs to put his struggles in ‘the rear-view mirror’ originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
First baseman/designated hitter Rafael Devers has not been great in his first full season with the San Francisco Giants after being traded from the Boston Red Sox in the middle of last year. Through 54 games, the three-time All-Star has batted .246 with a .706 OPS and struck out 66 times.
Devers Baseball Savant page is ice-cold, with his hard-hit percentage (81st percentile, 47.1%) and average exit velocity (79th percentile, 91 miles per hour) being his best categories. With the season passing its first milepost (Memorial Day), it’s time for Devers to put his struggles in the past and get back to the All-Star he was in Boston.
San Francisco Giants Rafael Devers needs to put his past struggles in the “rear-view mirror”
According to MLB.com’s Brian Murphy, Devers was listed as one of 10 hitters whose early-season struggles need to be put in the “rear-view mirror” for him to get back to his normal self. Murphy didn’t mince his words, saying Devers needed to “get it in gear.”
“Devers, like [Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio] Rodríguez, just needs some time to get into gear,” wrote Murphy. “The Giants star was included in previous iterations of this article in 2024 and ‘25, and he ultimately logged a wRC+ better than 130 in each season. His wRC+ entering Monday was just 94 (100 is league average), but that’s actually quite an improvement. Devers was slashing .207/.248/.289 with a 51 wRC+ through the end of April. But since the beginning of May, he has a .301 average, a .935 OPS and a 159 wRC+.”
More MLB News:Phillies’ Alec Bohm’s early struggles can be mitigated with recent success
Devers is currently striking out at an extremely high rate, 29.6%, which would be his career high by 2.6%, as he struck out 27% of the time in the shortened 2020 season. Devers is also on pace to match his worst walk percentage (5.2%), also set in 2020.
To make matters worse for the Giants, Devers has not provided them with adequate defense at first base (-7 defensive runs saved in 39 games, 39 starts). The Giants have used infielder/outfielder Casey Schmidt (13 games) at first base when Devers isn’t there, and he should be played more, given how well he has done with the bat and is a better defender.
Schmidt has been average over at first base (zero defensive runs saved) and has a .295 batting average with a .892 OPS and 11 home runs. The Giants also have their top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, on the roster, who has barely played. In 13 games, Eldridge is hitting .171 with a .529 OPS.
If Devers continues to struggle, Schmidt and Eldridge should get more playing time over Devers, despite his large contract — Devers has seven years, $199.5 million left on his deal after this season.
More MLB News:
- Athletics call up MLB top prospect amid series with Mariners
- Phillies prospects’ ranking takes a hit due to a nagging injury
- Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. continues to heat up, despite ‘slow start’
- Nationals’ top prospect makes tremendous leap in ESPN’s prospect rankings
- Mariners’ Colt Emerson leapfrogs a few spots in ESPN’s prospect ranking