The Giants didn’t give fans much to enjoy for most of 2026, but Rafael Devers turned into one of the few reasons to keep watching the games. By the time the second half rolled around, he was ripping through opposing pitching and forcing everyone who had doubted the trade to eat their words - himself included.
That skepticism made sense in April. It was rough, plain and simple.
At the end of the month, Devers was slashing .207/.248/.289 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. San Francisco had made the move expecting him to be its biggest power bat since Barry Bonds, and for a while he looked nothing like that player.
He had always been known as a slow starter, but the combination of his cold start, the team’s losing, and a lineup that was struggling across the board made the situation look ugly fast. The idea of having him through 2033 had to be a little unsettling.
May and June offered some signs of life. The power started to show up more often, though he still hadn’t fully caught fire. Then came the Miami incident, when he tried to reject a pinch runner in a pretty blatant act of subordination.
After that, though, Devers settled down in a big way. He stayed out of that kind of public mess, started hammering the ball, and even became a real mentor and leader for the younger players who were getting chances because of the rash of injuries.
The real explosion came after the trade deadline. In August, he hit .272/.375/.553 with eight homers and 18 RBI.
In September, over just 10 games before a core muscle injury shut him down, he was absurd: .342/.457/1.000 with seven home runs and 19 runs batted in. He had been dealing with that injury for a while, too, which makes the production even more staggering.
He was still a menace at the plate while heading toward surgery, and that says plenty about his toughness and his desire to be out there nearly every night.
Now comes the real question: can Devers be that guy when the Giants are actually in the mix? That’s the test that matters.
It’s one thing to put up huge numbers when the season has already gone sideways and you’re the only real threat in a lineup full of players who belong in Triple-A. It’s another thing entirely to do it when the games mean something.
Durability is the other concern. Surgery might help, but he’s about to turn 30, and the injury worries usually get louder once a player gets into his thirties.
Still, by the end of 2026, Devers was a lot of fun to watch and exactly what the Giants hoped they were getting. Now they need to build a better team around him and see whether he can do it when the club is chasing the postseason.
In Other News...
Kyle Harrison Is Back On The World Series Stage Waiting To Matter
Kyle Harrison has reached the biggest stage in October with the Milwaukee Brewers, even if he has not yet had a chance to leave a mark on the playoffs. The 25-year-old left-handers presence on a World Series roster gives him a place in the spotlight, but his usage so far has been limited enough to invite a familiar comparison to the way Tim Lincecum was deployed during the Giants 2014 championship run.
For Giants fans, it is a reminder of how tricky October pitching decisions can be, especially when a talented arm is available but not yet central to the plan. Harrisons situation leaves open the possibility of a larger role in future playoff appearances, which is part of what makes his current wait so interesting: he is there, he is close, and the next time the moment finds him, it may matter much more. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Face A Tough Steven Kwan Question This Offseason
Steven Kwan is heading into the final year of his arbitration window with Cleveland, which naturally puts him on the radar of clubs looking to add a dependable bat before he gets any closer to free agency. Around the league, executives reportedly expect the Giants and other teams to at least kick the tires, and it makes sense given how San Francisco has tried to keep one eye on immediate competitiveness while also planning ahead for the next wave of roster decisions.
Still, the Guardians have not been in the habit of letting key players drift all the way to the open market, so any real conversation would likely center on whether they can extract value now rather than later. For the Giants, the bigger question is whether Kwan fits their picture for the 2027 season, because their level of interest figures to hinge less on the name itself than on where they think the roster is headed by then. [Read more 🡒]
Former Giants Could Be In Line For A World Series Ring
The postseason has a way of circling back on old faces, and a few former Giants are in position to feel that now. As the 2026 World Series looms, San Francisco fans have reason to keep one eye on Milwaukee and Tampa Bay, where several players who once wore orange and black have spent the season contributing in different ways, from regular roles to more limited depth spots.
It is the kind of detail that rarely matters in the standings but tends to resonate afterward, when rings are handed out and old affiliations come back into focus. Some of those ex-Giants have logged meaningful innings and plate appearances this year, while others have stayed more on the fringes of the roster, but either way their paths now run through a championship setting that could leave them eligible for a piece of the reward. [Read more 🡒]