The Rafael Devers-to-Yankees talk has moved from deadline-day wishcasting to offseason theory, and ESPN’s Buster Olney and Paul Hembekides are now openly making the case that New York should be the team to take on the San Francisco Giants slugger’s contract.
That idea would have sounded far-fetched not long ago, but the logic has shifted. Devers is no longer being framed as a pure buy-low gamble. His bat has come back around, and the contract that once looked like the main obstacle is exactly why he could be available.
Hembekides laid out the fit by pointing to George Lombard Jr. and the Yankees’ infield alignment. “[Devers] would be a great fit next to George Lombard Jr., and I'll tell you why, man.
Mine is a nonstandard opinion. I think he can fake it at third base.
But when you have a superhero playing shortstop, which I believe Lombard will be, you don't need a Gold Glover playing third base for you. And I do believe the Yankees could coach Devers up to such an extent,” Hembekides said.
Devers has not played third base at all this year, but the broader point is hard to miss: New York has a clear opening at the hot corner. Amed Roario has disappointed there, especially against lefties, and the Yankees also have a crowd forming at first base and designated hitter with Ben Rice, Luis Garcia Jr., and maybe Giancarlo Stanton in the mix.
Lombard Jr.’s defensive upside is part of the appeal too. He has had some growing pains at shortstop, but the glove has already shown real juice. He logged eight defensive runs saved over his first 100 big league innings and now sits at nine defensive runs saved over 273 1/3 innings, miscues included.
The other reason this chatter has real traction is Devers’ second-half surge. During the first half, he hit .249/.319/.479.
In the second half, he jumped to .275/.376/.611, with 18 of his 37 homers coming in that 52-game stretch. That is the kind of production that changes how teams look at a contract.
And the contract is no small thing. Devers is owed $199.5 million over the next seven years, or $28.5 million per season. One way the Yankees could soften the blow would be to move on from Stanton and absorb just $15 million, with Miami covering the $10 million buyout for Stanton’s 2028 option under the terms of that Marlins trade.
The timing may matter even more than the dollars. The idea is that if New York gets a deal done in November, before the current agreement expires on Dec. 1, the contract could be exempt from any salary cap or other restrictions that might come with the next CBA after the expected lockout. That would let the Yankees add another prime-age slugger around Aaron Judge now, while getting ahead of a more restrictive spending setup later.
In that light, Devers is being sold as more than just a name. He is being cast as a lineup anchor, a roster fix at third base, and a way for the Yankees to push harder at the right moment.
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