The Rafael Devers-to-the-Yankees chatter that started with fans at the trade deadline is back, and this time it’s getting real airtime from ESPN voices Buster Olney and Paul Hembekides.
What made the idea pop in the first place was simple enough: Devers’ contract is huge, but his production wasn’t matching his usual standard, so the thought was that New York could step in as a salary dump destination without having to empty out the prospect cupboard. That was the logic when a large group of Yankees fans, with some nudging from CC Sabathia, wanted the club to chase the former Red Sox slugger at the 2026 trade deadline.
Now the discussion has shifted to the San Francisco Giants and whether they might be the ones looking to move Devers this offseason. Hembekides laid out the case that New York would be the ideal landing spot, and he centered it on Devers’ fit with George Lombard Jr.
"[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.
That third-base idea matters because Devers hasn’t played the position at all this year. Still, the argument isn’t crazy on the Yankees’ side of the ledger.
Lombard Jr. has had his bumps at shortstop, but the defensive ceiling is obvious. In his first 100 big league innings, he posted eight defensive runs saved, and he’s at nine defensive runs saved over 273 1/3 innings despite the errors that have come with the learning curve.
If Devers were to slide to third, the roster picture gets cleaner in a few places. New York currently has an offensive dead spot at the hot corner, especially against lefties, where Amed Roario has fallen short. It would also ease the traffic jam at first base and designated hitter, where Ben Rice, Luis Garcia Jr., and maybe Giancarlo Stanton are all part of the mix.
The other reason this is gaining traction is that Devers’ bat has come roaring back. The early-2026 version of the conversation came with the idea that he’d need to rebound before any team would really want to take on the deal.
He has done that. Over the first half, Devers hit .249/.319/.479, then turned it up to .275/.376/.611 in the second half, with 18 of his 37 home runs coming in that 52-game stretch.
That kind of production is exactly why teams keep talking themselves into a contract this big.
And the money is big. Devers is owed $199.5 million over the next seven years, which comes out to $28.5 million per season. The Yankees could create some room by moving on from Stanton and eating just $15 million, with Miami covering the $10 million buyout on his 2028 option under the terms of the Marlins trade.
The timing may be the biggest wrinkle. If New York were to make a deal in November, it could potentially benefit from the expectation that contracts on a team’s books before the current agreement ends on Dec. 1 would be exempt from any salary cap or other restrictions that might come with the next CBA after the expected lockout. In that scenario, the Yankees would be adding a prime-age slugger to a lineup built around Aaron Judge without taking on the same kind of future financial hit they might otherwise face.
That’s the appeal here: one more major bat, one more anchor in the middle of the order, and a possible way to beat the market before it changes.
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