Rafael Devers gave the SF Giants something to point to in an otherwise rough season, but it still may not be enough to land him a Silver Slugger.
The Giants came away with no Gold Glove nominees, and Devers is basically their lone real award hope. If he gets the nod, he’d become the first Giant to win a Silver Slugger since Buster Posey in 2021. But even with a strong finish, the race at first base looks crowded, and Devers may have come up just short.
His final line tells the story of a big bat doing real damage: .258/.340/.525 with 37 home runs and 98 runs batted in. Those numbers become even more impressive when you factor in how slowly he got going in the first month of the season, plus the injury he battled all year that eventually shut him down and cost him a shot at 40 homers and 100 RBI.
Devers finally looked like the feared middle-of-the-order hitter the Giants thought they were getting when they pulled off the blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox for him in 2025. Still, the Silver Slugger at first base is far from a walkover.
Last year’s winner was Pete Alonso, then with the New York Mets, and he’s now in the American League, so he’s out of the picture. But the field still includes some serious names.
Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson posted .251/.321/.502 with 41 homers and 93 RBI. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman put together a .288/.362/.430 line with 16 home runs and 70 RBI.
And Ty France of the San Diego Padres could also sneak into the conversation after hitting .295/.363/.502 with 21 homers and 72 RBI.
There’s one more factor that could work against Devers: those other candidates were all on playoff teams. That may carry weight when the votes are counted. Devers has put himself in the mix, but the rough April and the Giants’ struggles could still keep him from what would be his third career Silver Slugger.
In Other News...
Giants May Finally Close The Book On A Bullpen Move That Flopped
JT Brubakers time in San Francisco looks set to end the way a lot of bullpen experiments do, quietly and without much celebration. The Giants took a shot by tendering him a $1.8 million contract after he had made only limited appearances in 2025, then used him mostly as a bulk innings reliever in low-leverage spots in 2026, where he logged 60 and 1/3 innings over 41 games with a 3.58 ERA.
Now the veteran right-hander is headed into the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, and the expectation is that the Giants will not bring him back. For a club that has spent plenty of time searching for reliable relief depth, moving on would close the book on a move that never quite became more than an innings-eating stopgap. [Read more 🡒]
Blake Snell Just Gave Giants Fans Another Reason To Laugh
The Brewers 3-0 surge over the Dodgers on Wednesday night offered Giants fans a familiar kind of satisfaction, especially with Blake Snell in the middle of it. Snell, whose comments about adversity were already part of the pregame backdrop, saw the game turn on him in the seventh inning when he gave up two home runs and helped send Los Angeles deeper into trouble.
For a pitcher who has had a rougher run in recent postseason appearances, the outing only added to the noise around him. His postseason ERA now sits at 4.66, a number that fits the larger story of October frustration and gives Giants fans another reason to enjoy the Dodgers latest stumble. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Still Have One Unsettled Roster Battle That Could Matter A Lot
The Giants have made plenty of decisions for next season, but one of the quieter roster battles still hanging over camp is behind the plate. Daniel Susac and Drew Cavanaugh are the likeliest candidates to handle the bulk of the catching work, with Jess Rodrguez also in the mix thanks to his contact ability even as his defensive game continues to develop. Andrew Knizner, meanwhile, is eligible for arbitration, adding another layer of uncertainty to a position group that still does not have a clean answer.
Susac enters the conversation with strong defensive metrics from 2026, while Cavanaugh brings a more patient approach at the plate despite below-average defense. Rodrguez offers a different look altogether, and the Giants could end up carrying that competition well into spring training, with the possibility it stretches into the season. For a team trying to settle the roster without sacrificing flexibility, this is one of those decisions that could matter more than it looks at first glance. [Read more 🡒]