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Rafael Devers to the Giants?! Grading a shocking blockbuster

Published

6 months ago

June 16, 2025

Rafael Devers to the Giants?! Grading a shocking blockbuster

David SchoenfieldJun 15, 2025, 09:15 PM ET
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- Covers MLB for ESPN.com
- Former deputy editor of Page 2
- Been with ESPN.com since 1995

The trade: The San Francisco Giants acquire DH Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox for LHP Kyle Harrison, RHP Jordan Hicks, OF prospect James Tibbs and minor league RHP Jose Bello.

It’s rare we get an out-of-the-blue trade featuring one of the game’s best hitters, and it’s even more rare when it happens in the middle of June involving teams in playoff contention. Given everything Devers and the Red Sox have battled throughout this season — his initial anger at being moved off third base when the team signed Alex Bregman and later his refusal to move to first base when Triston Casas went down because of an injury — maybe it’s not as surprising as it first appears.

The Red Sox aren’t immune to controversial moves, having traded Mookie Betts in 2020, but this one certainly will be a fun one to argue about on social media, with enough hot takes to burn off the late summer fog in San Francisco.

Let’s grade it.

San Francisco Giants: For the Giants and new top executive Buster Posey, the impact of this trade is obvious: They get their best hitter since Posey himself was at his peak and certainly their best power hitter since Barry Bonds, the last Giants player to hit 30 home runs (2004), a figure Devers has reached three times. After beginning the season with five hitless games, Devers is now hitting .272/.401/.504 after hitting his 15th home run in Boston’s 2-0 win Sunday over the New York Yankees. He has seen a huge spike in his walk rate, boosting his OBP well above his career mark of .349. If that walk rate holds (he’s second to Juan Soto in walks drawn), it raises Devers’ offensive game to a new level.

Of course, Devers has his issues. The Red Sox moved him off third base for good reason. The Giants have Gold Glover Matt Chapman there, so a return to third remains out of the equation for Devers. Giants first basemen have been among the worst in the majors, ranking 26th in OPS, with Dominic Smith getting most of the action lately after LaMonte Wade Jr. was traded to the Angels. But the most likely scenario is Devers remaining at DH with Wilmer Flores shifting over to share first.

The other issue is Devers’ contract: He’s 28 years old and signed through 2033, making this the second year of a 10-year deal that will run through his age-36 season. That puts some degree of risk on his long-term value, but Devers has been a consistent hitter throughout his career — his top 10 similarity scores on Baseball-Reference include three Hall of Famers in Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre and Ron Santo, plus a couple of likely future Hall of Famers in Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado. Granted, those guys were or are much superior defenders, but Devers compares to them as a hitter.

He does move from Fenway to Oracle Park — and San Francisco’s ballpark is part of the reason no Giants player has hit 30 home runs since Bonds. Devers’ career splits are interesting: He has hit for a higher average at home (.292 versus .267) but with more home runs on the road (120 to 95). He’s going to lose some of those cheap doubles he hit off the Green Monster, so maybe his average dips a little, but I think his power will translate just fine.

Bottom line: The Giants have been looking for that big middle-of-the-order hitter for years, from Bryce Harper to Aaron Judge to Shohei Ohtani. Now they have one and didn’t surrender any of the pitchers on a staff that ranks third in the majors in ERA. The National League West race — and the Giants were just a game back of the Dodgers at trade time — just got a lot more interesting.

Grade: A-

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox have been hard to understand for years now, since the Betts trade, operating more like a mid-major market than the team that had the highest payroll in the majors in 2018 and 2019. Under that lens, this trade is not only the dealing of a disgruntled star with a ruptured relationship with the organization, but coincidentally enough, moving on from a player with a huge salary.

The timing will also create minor shockwaves: The Red Sox just swept the Yankees and have won seven of their past eight games, getting back into the playoff picture after a disappointing first two months. The spin from Boston will be interesting, focusing on Devers not stepping up and putting the team first. And that’s not an inaccurate spin, even if the Red Sox have clearly mishandled this situation from the start.

Passan’s early MLB trade deadline previewAs trade season starts up, here are the biggest names who could move — and the teams that could deal for them.Jeff Passan &#187

They also have all of their top prospects playing for the big league team now, from recent call-up Roman Anthony to Marcelo Mayer to Kristian Campbell. Manager Alex Cora has been platooning Anthony and Mayer, which is silly; they need to be playing every day, even if they get exposed a bit against left-handers. Trading Devers opens up at-bats for everyone and helps clear the outfield logjam of Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder — but they’re not going to be able to replace Devers’ production just yet.

Harrison is a talented left-hander, once a top pitching prospect in the minors who hasn’t quite put it all together in the majors — but he’s also still only 23 years old. He had a 4.56 ERA in 24 starts as a rookie last season and has a 4.56 ERA in 23⅔ innings so far in 2025. Boston has optioned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester, but with Tanner Houck injured and Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito both fighting ERAs on the wrong side of 5.00, Harrison could be a potential rotation option later in the season. As for Hicks, the Giants tried the hard-throwing right-hander as a starter, but it never really worked, so he’ll be in the bullpen.

Tibbs was the Giants’ first-round pick last June out of Florida State, an outfielder hitting .245/.377/.480 in High-A. He might be something, although let’s see what happens when he’s bumped up to Double-A.

Given Harrison’s potential upside, it’s not fair to completely slam the Red Sox. Devers has a big contract, but it doesn’t seem out of line with some other recent deals — such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million contract. Maybe the Red Sox will take those savings and go after some more pitching help, either at the trade deadline or in the offseason.

Still, when you’re looking to trade a player because of a broken relationship, it’s hard to get fair value in return — and it seems as if the Red Sox came up short here. Maybe this will prove to be the best move for the organization in the long run, but Boston’s playoff hopes for 2025 take a hit.

Grade: C

Sports

A reverse-sweep comeback over Louisville pushes Texas A&M volleyball to third-ever Elite Eight

Published

8 minutes ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

(KBTX) – In the middle of the third set of Friday’s NCAA Tournament region semifinal volleyball match, Texas A&M opposite hitter Logan Lednicky glanced at a random piece of paper in the middle of the score’s table.

After being the first team to 15 points in both of the first two sets, the third-seeded Aggies’ allowed No. 2 seed Louisville to rally and set up a three-game sweep. The Aggies needed a rare reverse sweep to keep their season alive. They were looking for an answer to the situation they found themselves in.

Sometimes the sign is literally a sign.

“Something great is about to happen,” the piece of paper read.

Three sets later, the Aggies were celebrating on the court of the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Nebraska, having rallied to beat Louisville 3-2 in a five set thriller. It was A&M’s first reverse sweep since September 29 of last year, when the Aggies’ came from behind to beat Missouri in Reed Arena.

“I’m like floating on air,” Lednicky said after the match. “That was the most insane experience I have ever been a part of.”

From the start, A&M appeared to be in control of the match, jumping out to a 17-12 lead. However, after A&M reached 15 points, Louisville did not commit another error in the set. The Cardinals closed out the set on a 6-3 run to take the first game.

History repeated itself in the second set. A&M pulled out to a 21-16 lead, but allowed a 5-0 Cardinal run to tie the game. An 8-0 run ultimately sealed the 2-0 start for Louisville and put the Aggies’ season in jeopardy.

It wasn’t unfamiliar territory for the Aggies. Not only did A&M travel to Nebraska last season for the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, they fell behind 2-1 to Wisconsin and needed to push the game to a fifth set to try to advance. That effort fell short in the final game, 15-13, ending the Aggies season.

The story of this season wouldn’t end the same way.

“I think we spent a lot of time under tension,” Aggie middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla said. “I think that was something we all said when we were in that fifth set, just knowing that we had been here before. We played here before. We’ve been in this exact situation before and it’s really just on us to turn it around and capitalize.”

The Aggie block leader was key at the net in the match turn-around. A&M finished the match with 17 blocks, 12 of which came from Cos-Okpalla. The Aggies had nine blocks in the fourth set, seven off the hands of Cos-Okpalla.

The senior finished with nine kills, to go along with her blocking effort and a .316 hit percentage.

“Even when I wasn’t getting blocked or good touches, I think I was in a good enough spot to like funnel out space for the defense to work behind me,” Cos-Okpalla said. “We can just run our offense from there. So yeah, it takes everybody on the team honestly, but, yeah, I’m just so proud.”

The fifth set saw nine ties and three lead changes in a back-and-forth struggle for the next line of the bracket. The Aggies needed a 3-0 run through the middle of the set to take a 10-9 lead, thanks to two Louisville errors and a block by Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky. Then, the Aggies closed the match out on a 5-2 run with outside hitter Kyndal Stowers recording the final kill.

Lednicky paced the Aggies with 20 kills and added 12 digs and seven blocks. Stowers had 17 kills and 11 digs.

Louisville’s Chloe Chicoine led all attackers with 26 kills.

A&M hit at a .277 clip, slightly better than Louisville’s .229.

The Aggies advance to the program’s third-ever regional final and will face the No. 1 overall seed Nebraska on its home court Sunday at 2 p.m. The Cornhuskers took down No. 4 seed Kansas 3-0 in a match directly following A&M’s win.

In the meantime, A&M can take a moment to relish in the program they’ve builtin the three years of the Morrison era.

“My No. 1 thing that I said when I first got here was to get it back to where its was and take it further and we have it back to where it was… Now, it’s time, in two days, to take it further,” Morrison said.

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Gonzaga Volleyball signs Lydia Fisher

Published

24 minutes ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SPOKANE, Wash- Gonzaga Volleyball continues to build for the future with the addition of another signee for next season, as head coach JT Wenger announced the signing of Lydia Fisher on Thursday night.

Coming to Spokane after completing her high school career her hometown of Dallas, Lydia has starred for Highland Park High School as middle blocker and right side hitter. She was named to the First Team All-District while representing the Scots. Fisher helped the team to a capture a state championship last month, as Highland Park won the 5A State Championship. A 6’5″ blocker, Fisher will help further establish the net front presence for the Zags when she comes to campus next season.

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Badgers news: Wisconsin back in Elite 8 with big win over Stanford

Published

56 minutes ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Wisconsin Badgers are back in the Elite 8. The Badgers faced off against the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Friday afternoon, winning 3-1 to face the No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

Mimi Colyer had one of her best games as a Badger, recording 27 kills on 51 attempts with just eight errors. Carter Booth had 14 kills of her own with zero errors, while Una Vagajic had 13 kills as well. The Badgers had 70 kills as a whole, while Charlie Fuerbringer had 61 assists.

Wisconsin started off the first set well, getting off to an early 7-3 lead as Colyer and Booth each recorded a pair of kills. Things got tight, with Stanford cutting the lead to 10-9, but Wisconsin went on a 5-0 run to separate itself, with Colyer recording two more kills in the stretch.

From there, Wisconsin comfortably led the rest of the way, ultimately taking the first set 25-17. From there, though, things got tight.

The second set was back-and-forth to start, as neither side had more than a two-point lead through the midway point in the set. Stanford began to pull away, though, going on a 4-1 run when leading 15-14 to get a four-point lead late in the set. That proved to be the difference, as the Cardinal extended that lead to 22-16 before ultimately taking the set 25-21.

Tied at 1-1, the Badgers had a great response coming into the third set, starting off with a 5-2 lead. Stanford hit Wisconsin back, though, tying things up at seven apiece, and the back-and-forth action continued from there. Once again, neither side had more than a two-point advantage until Stanford took a 17-14 lead off back-to-back kills from Ella Rubin.

It seemed like the momentum might be turning in Stanford’s favor, but Wisconsin stormed back with a four-point run to take an 18-17 lead as Natalie Wardlow had three consecutive service aces. Both sides traded points over the next few rallies, tying things up back again at 21 apiece.

The two biggest points of the set came next. Kristen Simon had a service ace of her own before Mimi Colyer got a kill to put Wisconsin up 23-21. Jordyn Harvey got a kill for Stanford, which Carter Booth responded to with a kill of her own. 24-22. Grace Egan had an attack error to cut the lead to one, but rebounded with the set-clinching kill and Wisconsin took the third set 25-23 for a 2-1 lead in the match.

Once again, Wisconsin started the fourth set well, getting out to a 7-3 lead thanks to a flurry of Stanford mistakes. The Cardinal had two service errors and three attack errors in the first ten points, and the Badgers capitalized. But, Stanford slowly chipped back at the lead and flipped the script, taking a 13-12 lead midway through the set.

After both sides traded a point, Wisconsin went on a three-point run to take a 16-14 lead. That stretch proved to be the difference-maker as the Badgers never trailed from that point on. Stanford did tie things up at 19 apiece, but the Badgers had another three-point run. Then, after the Cardinal brought it back within one at 23-22, Mimi Colyer and Grace Egan delivered the final blows to send Wisconsin to the Elite Eight.

With the 3-1 win, the Badgers are facing the No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns, who swept the No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers on Friday. That game will be played in Austin on Sunday.

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Wisconsin volleyball knocks off Stanford in Sweet 16, moves to Elite 8

Published

1 hour ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 12, 2025, 7:56 p.m. CT

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball has long eyed a deep postseason run.

In the NCAA tournament regional semifinals, the third-seeded Badgers fully looked the part as they outdueled second-seeded Stanford in four sets, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, to advance to the NCAA regional finals for the eighth consecutive season.

“The level of talent out there on the court and the level of play out there – that easily could have been a Final Four match,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said afterward. “It’s unusual to see that high level and back and forth in the Sweet 16.”

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Nebraska volleyball faces Texas A&M in regional final on Channel 8

Published

1 hour ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nebraska Vs Kansas Courtesy Photo — Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The undefeated Nebraska volleyball team is looking to punch its ticket to Kansas City with a win over Texas A&M on Sunday.

The Huskers face off against No. 6 Texas A&M on Channel 8. That game begins at 2 p.m.

Texas A&M is coming off a five-set win over Louisville, Husker head coach Dani Busboom Kelly’s former team.

Shortly after that match, Nebraska swept Kansas in a dominant performance inside a sold-out John Cook Arena.

The Huskers are now onto their 34th regional final in program history. That is the most regional final appearances in NCAA history.

Nebraska gets another postseason game at the Bob Devaney Center. The Huskers have won 90 home matches in the NCAA Tournament.

Only four schools nationally have 90 or more victories in the tournament.

Nebraska and Texas A&M have faced off 39 times, most recently in 2010 when the Huskers swept the Aggies on the road.

Nebraska has won 32 of those matchups.

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Tracking undefeated women’s volleyball teams in 2025

Published

2 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Your Sports Nation

We are tracking all remaining undefeated teams in DI women’s volleyball for the 2025 season. Only Nebraska is left standing after Texas fell to Texas A&M in a five-setter on Friday, Oct. 31.

Since 1981, there have been only four programs — five teams — to finish a season undefeated and win a national title: Penn State (2008, 2009), Southern California (2003), Nebraska (2000) and Long Beach State (1998).

READ MORE: Every undefeated national champion in college volleyball history

Penn State holds the longest win streak in DI women’s volleyball history with 109 match victories from 2007-10, with the Nittany Lions winning four consecutive titles (2007 through 2010). The 2009 title team is the most recent undefeated champion.

Will there be another team to etch its name into history this season? Follow along here:

Undefeated DI women’s volleyball teams in 2025

Rankings are from the AVCA:

No. 1 Nebraska (33-0): The Huskers’ extend their win-streak to 33 after most recently sweeping Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12 in the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament. Next: vs. Texas A&M (NCAA Tournament)