Giants’ Rafael Devers deal could make path to October harder for Diamondbacks

• The San Francisco Giants acquired star third baseman Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster trade.
• Devers, a three-time All-Star, significantly strengthens the Giants’ lineup, which was previously considered a weakness.
• The trade further intensifies the competition in the NL West, which has seen an influx of talent in recent years.

Outfielder Randal Grichuk was scrolling social media after the game on Sunday, June 15, when he came across the stunning news, which he read aloud in the Diamondbacks clubhouse at Chase Field.

“I was like, ‘Rafael Devers to the Giants?’” Grichuk recalled. “Everyone was like, ‘No, that’s fake.’ I was like, ‘No, it’s MLB Trade Rumors. That’s not fake.’”

Grichuk was right.

In acquiring slugger Rafael Devers, a three-time All-Star, from the Boston Red Sox, the San Francisco Giants pulled off one of the more stunning in-season deals in recent baseball history and in the process possibly shifted the balance of power in the National League West.

“It seems like every good baseball player comes to the NL West these days,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, who was a coach in Boston during Devers’ formative years. “Just add one more to the group. It made that team better. It’s going to make this league better. It means we’ve got to be better, too.”

Over the past five years, Devers has been one of the better sluggers in baseball. A left-handed hitter, he torches right-handed pitching and has more than held his own against lefties.

He figures to give the Giants exactly what they lack, in more ways than one. He is a star, the sort of high-profile impact player the Giants have lacked since the retirement of Buster Posey, who is now their president of baseball operations.

More importantly, he is a fearsome, dangerous hitter — the kind the Giants have lacked.

This year’s Giants team has featured a solid rotation and a strong bullpen. The offense has left much to be desired.

Other teams in the division have hitters who strike fear in opposing pitchers. The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, among others. The Padres have Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. The Diamondbacks have Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll.

The Giants now have the kind of bat that stacks up.

“There are guys on every team that you’re like, ‘Let’s not let him beat us this game,’” said Diamondbacks lefty Jalen Beeks, who came up with Devers in the Red Sox system. “We’re going to attack him, we’re going to get him out, but in certain situations, it’s just, ‘Be smart,’ and he’s definitely that type of guy.”

Said Diamondbacks lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, another former Red Sox pitcher: “That kind of player can make a difference on any team he plays for. That’s how good he is. Now we’ve got to find a way to get him out.”

Boston, which announced the deal Sunday, received left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and rookie-ball right-hander Jose Bello.

The deal continues what has been an exodus of talent from the American League to the National League in recent years. And it is not just Lovullo’s imagination that much of it has gravitated to his division.

There was Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tyler Glasnow going to the Dodgers. Dylan Cease and Nick Pivetta to the Padres. Corbin Burnes and Eugenio Suarez to the Diamondbacks. Robbie Ray and Matt Chapman to the Giants. Not only did they all change leagues, but they wound up calling the NL West home.

Entering Sunday, the fourth-place Diamondbacks were 4½ games back of the second-place Giants, with the Padres in between. All three were chasing the Dodgers, of course, with three wild cards in the NL up for grabs.

Despite the strong start, the Giants faced questions about just how legitimate a contender they truly were. The Devers deal signals that they might be here to stay.

“That’s huge for them (the Giants),” Grichuk said of the Devers deal. “Obviously sucks for us in the division, but that’s a big pickup for them, that’s for sure.

“It’s crazy. Right when you think the division is already unbelievable, more studs come into it. I don’t know, I love it. It makes baseball fun. It makes the games exciting, makes all the teams good. I’d rather every team fighting be fighting for first than, weirdly enough, one or two teams being good and then everyone else terrible. It just makes the games fun.”

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