A gigantic franchise star of the Boston Red Sox has become a teammate of Lee Jung-hoo through a trade.
Major League Baseball's official website, MLB.com, reported on the 16th (Korean time) that "a shocking blockbuster trade occurred more than a month ahead of the July 31 trade deadline," stating that "the Boston Red Sox have traded their star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, agreeing to receive additional resources including Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison in return." Both teams have yet to officially announce the trade.
Dominican Republic-born Devers, a left-handed power hitter from 1996, debuted in Major League Baseball with Boston in 2017 and has spent nine seasons there as a franchise star. Ahead of the 2023 season, he signed a massive 11-year contract worth $331 million (approximately 453 billion won), but now in the third year of the contract, he is experiencing his first trade.
Devers' Major League Baseball career statistics include 1,053 games, a batting average of .279, 1,136 hits, 215 home runs, 696 RBIs, 663 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .349, a slugging percentage of .510, and an OPS of .859. He has been an American League All-Star three times (2021, 2022, 2024), won the Silver Slugger award twice (2021, 2023), and tasted World Series victory in 2018. This season, he faced extreme hitting slumps early on but rebounded with a batting average of .272, 74 hits, 15 home runs, 58 RBIs, and an OPS of .905 in 73 games.
MLB.com stated that "Devers established himself as Boston's franchise star since his debut in 2017, but conflicts arose this offseason when the team signed Alex Bregman." It noted that "Devers was initially reluctant to take on the designated hitter role but later changed his stance and played primarily as a designated hitter this season. However, it is reported that he communicated to the team in early May that he would not take on the role of first baseman."
In contrast, San Francisco, competing for the top spot in the National League West, has acquired a blockbuster left-handed hitter. MLB.com observed that "the Giants have officially entered the race for the National League West title and have added a premium left-handed hitter to their lineup through this trade."
Meanwhile, due to the trade, Kyle Harrison, who was scheduled to start in the away game against the Los Angeles Dodgers that day, hurriedly left for Boston. As a result, they are now facing the Dodgers with an opener day led by Sean Jelly. Jelly surrendered the first run to the Dodgers in the bottom of the first inning.
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