Will the Rafael Devers deal reshape the odds in the already tight NL West?

Yes, the dream team roster of the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers made this club the Las Vegas favorites to repeat in 2025. And their rabid fans, sports celebrities and the Hollywood beautiful people are quick to point out that the boys in blue currently hold down first place, albeit only by a few games That said, recent developments made the National League West, already baseball’s toughest division, even more competitive.

In a blockbuster deal that caught most industry insiders off guard, the Boston Red Sox traded their franchise super star Rafael Devers across the coast to the San Francisco Giants for several blue chip players who will help rebuild the organization’s youth movement. Along with Devers, only 28, will be his pricey $313.5 million contract, only in the second season of a 10 year deal. The rift that created the shocking transaction was Rafael’s refusal to switch from his designated hitter role to first base, an experiment proposed due to the injury of Boston’s young starter Triston Casas. However Devers refused, saying he only plays third base, a position occupied by free agent newcomer Alex Bregman.

“The situation came to an infection point,” claimed Red Sox President Sam Kennedy. “We couldn’t find an alignment, so we decided to make the move.”

That was music to the ears of Buster Posey, the former Giants catcher who now calls the shots as the team’s new General Manager. Posey had already experienced a pretty good winter, inking former Brewers slugging shortstop Willy Adames. But the Giants offense has always been anemic since Posey retired as a player, and they haven’t employed a bonified power source since the days of Barry Bonds. San Francisco currently ranks 24th in team hitting among the 30 MLB teams, and are a dismal .180 in RISP over the last 25 games. So acquiring a proven hitter like Devers must have seemed like Christmas in June for Giants skipper Bob Melvin. A mediocre third baseman by trade, what Devers does best is hit. But anxious to get off to a fresh start with his new club, the moody Dominican has promised to play wherever he is needed in San Francisco.

“Third, first, DH, whatever,” promised Devers.

Ironically, Rafael has been taking ground balls at first base, the position he refused to play in Boston. The best case scenario with the Giants would seem to have Devers split time at first and as the DH with veteran Wilmer Flores, who has been one of the few bright spots in his team’s lineup this season. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if the addition of Devers will elevate San Francisco to compete with the Dodgers, San Diego Padres and even the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Considering the fact that nearly half of their pitching staff is on the injured list, it’s amazing that the Dodgers remain top dog in the west. Among the “name” arms on the shelf include Tyler Glasnow, Tony Glosolin, Brusdar Graterol, Edgardo Henriquez, Evan Phillips, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell and Blake Treinen. Skipper Dave Roberts has been forced to call many of his events, “bullpen games,” with each pitcher working one or two innings to get the job done. The plan has worked fairly well although the season is still young, and that type of strategy moving forward is a recipe for disaster. Still, Los Angeles keeps churning out the prospects, and the club’s unique blend of power and speed on offense score a lot of runs.

The Padres have had their share of pitching injuries as well, especially in the starting rotation. Joe Musgrove is out for the year and nobody knows when Yu Darvish will return, not even Yu. When Michael King went down on May 24th with a mysterious shoulder issue, the Padres pitching staff was forced to regroup. King, 30, is saddled with what has been called a “nerve impingement,” and his return this season is uncertain. That makes Dylan Cease the lone team ace, and he has been both very good and very bad. The pen has been lights out as expected, but the offensive attack, which features the talents of Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr. and captain Manny Machado, has been streaky at best. Part of that problem has been the injury to Jackson Merrill, last season’s runner up Rookie of the Year, sidelined with a hamstring issue.

The Diamondbacks are the dark horse club here, much better than their current .500 record indicates. Torey Lovullo‘s crew are a scrappy bunch, good enough to jump up and bite you, but without the necessary pieces to win the division. That distinction talent-wise belongs to the Padres, but this is a team that still suffers from the little brother syndrome. In last year’s NLCS, San Diego was on the brink of it’s first World Series since 1998, and dropped the final two games to let Los Angeles barge in the front door. The two teams have only played seven games thus far this season, with the Dodgers winning five times. Honestly, I don’t see that trend changing, barring a key trade deadline transaction.

The same could be said for the Giants, who could still use an additional bat for good measure. But the Dodger-Giants rivalry is one for the ages dating back to the New York days. They have the pitching with possible Cy Young award candidate Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and a guy named Justin Verlander, plus plenty of money. Will Rafael Devers be enough to make a difference? Stranger things have happened.

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