What we learned from Rafael Devers and Buster Posey as a new Giants era begins

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It’s been 14 years since the Giants have had a left-handed hitter as dangerous as Rafael Devers in the heart of their lineup.

And if all goes according to plan, Devers will make about 1,000 more appearances with the Giants than Carlos Beltrán did during his 44-game stint with the club after a 2011 trade.

Brian Sabean’s blockbuster deal that sent top prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets in exchange for Beltrán is widely viewed as a failure — Wheeler, an 11-year veteran, has emerged as one of MLB’s most consistent starters, while the Giants missed the playoffs after acquiring the star outfielder. But it’s a trade that shaped Buster Posey’s perspective on how a front office should operate when a team has the opportunity to contend for a division title and make a deep October run.

The Giants viewed Beltrán as the type of immediate-impact slugger who could transform a struggling lineup that lost Posey, the starting catcher, to a season-ending leg injury in May. Now the Giants’ president of baseball operations, Posey looks at Devers as a player who can spearhead a postseason run, but the commitment the franchise made with this trade is far more significant than the one that netted Beltrán.

Devers is in the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million extension. His contract is the largest in franchise history, and he’ll be the centerpiece of a core that includes Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Heliot Ramos, and Jung Hoo Lee and is expected to compete for World Series titles on an annual basis.

What else should Giants fans expect now that Devers has arrived? Here’s what we learned at his introductory press conference Tuesday at Oracle Park.

When the Giants introduced Devers, he was surrounded by Posey, general manager Zack Minasian, manager Bob Melvin, team chairman Greg Johnson, and Spanish-language interpreter Erwin Higueros.

Nearly the entire Giants roster sat to Devers’ left, but his eyes focused in on the row of seats directly in front of him.

That’s where the all-time home run king, Barry Bonds, chose to sit.

“I think just looking at him, my game has already improved a lot,” Devers said with a laugh.

Posey added that Giants hitting coaches Pat Burrell and Damon Minor will work closely with Devers as he adjusts to Oracle Park but noted that it won’t hurt to have a hitter such as Bonds to lean on for batting tips.

“When you have a guy like Barry Bonds around, arguably the greatest hitter of all time, it’s an added benefit for sure,” Posey said.

Is Devers concerned about his power translating to his new home?

“It’s the same baseball,” Devers said. “You just play the same way.”

Posey added: “Hitters hit.”

That’s exactly what Bonds did.

One of the primary reasons Devers was available is that the Red Sox signed free-agent Alex Bregman last offseason without warning their primary third baseman that he would be asked to move from his natural position.

Devers expressed public frustration with the change during spring training but ultimately accepted Boston’s decision to make him a designated hitter. Then, when first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending injury, the Red Sox asked Devers if he would be willing to fill in for Casas in the field.

It wasn’t happening. But he will learn first base in San Francisco.

“If you can play third, you can play first, and he’s done a great job at third before,” Melvin said. “I don’t think it’s going to be too difficult for him.”

Devers has never played a major-league game at first base, but the Giants will call on assistant coaches Matt Williams and Mark Hallberg to start working with him immediately during pregame sessions so he can acclimate to the spot.

With top prospect Bryce Eldridge expected to arrive in the big leagues by 2026, Devers may not need to spend much time over at first in the future.

Devers’ .401 on-base percentage and .504 slugging percentage lead all qualified Giants hitters.

The club wants to maximize his plate appearances, but the Giants also want to give him the opportunity to hit regularly with runners on base. After Devers hit second in all 73 games he played for the Red Sox this year, Melvin said the Giants will start by slotting him into the No. 3 spot in the order.

Doing so allows the Giants to leave the left-handed Jung Hoo Lee as the leadoff man and use a right-handed hitter as the second batter to break up the mix at the top of the lineup.

“I know from the opposing dugout, I always knew where he was and when his spot was coming up, and that’s going to be the same way for every manager when his spot comes up,” Melvin said.

One of Giants’ fans primary issues with Posey’s predecessor, Farhan Zaidi, was his inability to develop and sign players who would stick with the team for years.

Zaidi had signed only one player — the South Korean outfielder Lee — to a contract longer than three years when the Giants agreed to a six-year, $151 million extension with Chapman in September. The contract came together in the weeks leading up to Zaidi’s dismissal, and Posey has been credited with helping get the deal across the finish line.

After signing Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract in December, Posey has quickly assembled a core that’s now anchored by Devers, who is under contract in San Francisco through 2033.

With Devers, Lee, Adames, Chapman, Ramos, and ace Logan Webb all tied to the team through at least 2027, Giants fans have their pick of players whose jersey they can buy without worrying if and when that player will be sent packing.

Johnson acknowledged that the Giants have made several significant financial commitments but compared the Devers move to seeing and crushing a hanging slider.

“That’s always a concern when you lock up that much payroll over a longer period,” the chairman said. “But it’s much outweighed by getting the core group together for that period and getting the kind of player that eases that concern.”

The Devers trade provides a contrast to the previous front office, which operated with financial prudence but was criticized for its lack of bold movement.

In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s trade, Adames conducted a live in-game interview on ESPN lauding the addition of Devers.

“Everybody is so excited,” Adames told the broadcast crew. “Me personally, I’m thrilled to have him on the team. Obviously, he’s one of the best hitters in the game. To have him on this team, I think it’s going to help us do a lot of damage in this division. Obviously, we need a bat like him in this lineup.”

After the Giants’ 5-4 loss, one of Devers’ former teammates, Dominic Smith, vouched for his prolific power.

“Young, right in his prime,” Smith said. “Can’t wait to see how many balls he hits into the cove.” 

Red Sox executives, meanwhile, spent the 24 hours following the deal admitting that their relationship with the superstar fell apart.

“We had a different vision for him going forward than he had, and we couldn’t get there,” CEO Sam Kennedy said. “We couldn’t find alignment, and we reached that inflection point and made the decision to make a big move.”

The relationship between Devers and the Red Sox soured remarkably quickly, but Posey and co. don’t appear concerned about character issues or upsetting clubhouse chemistry. They believe they’ve landed a player who’s willing to do anything in his power to help the club win.

And Devers reiterated that point about 10 times during his introductory presser.

“This is a new organization, I’m happy to be here, they’re the men in charge, and I’m happy to do what they ask me to do,” he said.

The Devers acquisition has the potential to be a watershed move for the Giants, but it requires a level of financial commitment the franchise hasn’t approached in recent years.

The last time the Giants had at least six players (Devers, Lee, Adames, Chapman, Webb, Robbie Ray) earning at least $15 million was 2021, when Posey and Johnny Cueto were the team’s highest-paid players, and midseason acquisition Kris Bryant counted toward the total.

A higher payroll equates to higher expectations, and there’s no question the Giants believe in the roster they’ve assembled.

The next step, which is what the Giants have failed to do for the last decade, is to use the amateur draft and international signing periods and build a pipeline of talent in the minor leagues.

By trading 23-year-old pitcher Kyle Harrison and 22-year-old outfield prospect James Tibbs III to Boston, San Francisco dealt away two of its most promising young talents and must spend the next several years restocking its farm system.

Eldridge remains the Giants’ top prospect, and 23-year-old Hayden Birdsong has the potential to be a rotation fixture for years to come, but Posey can’t expect the franchise to realistically contend beyond the next two or three seasons without outside additions or an influx of homegrown talent arriving to provide cost-efficient solutions at positions of need.

It’s one of the reasons Eldridge will continue working at first base in the near future.

“We see his development path as the same,” Posey said of Eldridge. “He’s going to keep playing first, keep developing at the plate. It’s a conversation Raffy and I have had about Bryce and the future that we potentially see him having.”

Since the Giants drafted Wheeler with the ninth overall pick in 2009, only one first-round pick, Ramos, has made an All-Star team.

Posey didn’t have the luxury of waiting years to assemble a homegrown core like the one he played for alongside the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Brandon Crawford, so in the interim, he’s made huge financial commitments to players who will have to produce while the Giants wait for the next wave of young talent.