The baseball gods must have a wicked sense of humor.
Just days after the San Francisco Giants made a blockbuster trade for Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, his new team is set to host his old one this weekend at Oracle Park. The storyline writes itself—betrayal, miscommunication, and just enough pettiness to turn this into MLB’s newest grudge match.
But here’s where it gets funny: Devers, who reportedly refused to play first base for the Red Sox after they asked him midseason, is now suddenly open to playing the position in San Francisco. Just not this weekend. Not against Boston. Not yet.
Devers Says Yes—But Not Right Now
Since joining the Giants, Devers has said all the right things. He told reporters he’s willing to “play wherever they want me to play,” he’s already begun fielding grounders at first base during warm-ups.
Giants manager Bob Melvin quickly shut down the idea of Devers debuting at first this weekend, telling KNBR, “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen this weekend. We haven’t gotten there.”
Of course, they haven’t. Because baseball, like revenge, is best served cold, and the Giants know how to play the long game.
Spring Drama Turned Sour
The irony here is almost too perfect. In spring training, the Red Sox asked Devers to move off third base to make room for free-agent addition Alex Bregman. Devers wasn’t thrilled. He hesitated. He relented. And then Triston Casas went down with a season-ending injury, and Boston asked him to move again—this time to first base.
That second ask was one too many. Devers said no. The relationship fractured. And just like that, a homegrown star with a fresh 10-year extension became trade bait.
Now? He’s in black and orange across the country, taking reps at the position he refused to play in Boston.
You can’t script it better.
Red Sox Lose Another Star
The Giants got their guy: one of the game’s best left-handed bats, a two-time All-Star with a .272/.401/.504 slash line and 15 home runs already this year. The Red Sox, meanwhile, received a promising haul headlined by Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and outfield prospect James Tibbs.
Still, for Boston fans, it’s a familiar kind of heartbreak. Devers joins Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts as the third homegrown star to land in the NL West. Once again, Red Sox ownership cleared payroll and embraced the future while the present took another punch to the gut.
And it might hurt just a little more when Devers jogs out this weekend and doesn’t play first base, only to start there for the Giants sometime soon.
Could This Be Baseball’s Newest Rivalry?
Don’t be surprised if things get spicy this weekend. Devers hasn’t ruled out playing first base later this year. If his first appearance at the cold corner comes against Boston in a future rematch—whether in interleague play or, who knows, a dream World Series scenario—it might just become appointment viewing.
For now, Red Sox fans must watch their former star in another uniform, not staffing the position that helped end his time in Boston. Giants fans will celebrate the irony. And Devers? He’ll keep hitting baseballs and pretending none of this is personal.
But let’s be honest—it is.
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