Rafael Devers Trade: Red Sox Acquire Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs & More From Giants For Star Slugger
Image credit: Rafael Devers (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Just hours after completing a sweep of the rival Yankees, the Red Sox traded star slugger Rafael Devers to the Giants for a package of players Sunday evening. FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported news of the deal.
The move was the final conclusion to a standoff that’s been brewing between the team and Devers dating back to spring training. The deal allows Boston to shed the remaining money on Devers’ 10-year, $313 million contract while the Giants land a superstar bat for their middle of their lineup as they chase the defending World Series champion Dodgers in the NL West.
This seems like a clear sign of two organizations headed in different directions. The Giants are loading up to compete with the juggernaut Dodgers and their deep pockets, while the Red Sox are in talent acquisition mode and beginning to lean into the young core within their organization.
As part of the return for Devers, the Red Sox acquired pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, adding a pair of potential starting pitchers capable of deepening a rotation that’s been thin at points this season. Both Harrison and Hicks have multiple years of control, with Harrison still in pre-arbitration and Hicks in the second year of a four year $44 million contract.
GIANTS RECEIVE
Rafael Devers, DH/3B
Age: 28
After the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract in February, the team and Devers began to face questions regarding his future position. Boston clearly wanted Devers to move to a designated hitter role a majority of the time while also getting in some work at first base. Devers, however, didn’t take kindly to the suggestion and very publicly stated that he wanted to play third base every day. Eventually, Devers accepted his role as the team’s everyday designated hitter and, after a slow start to the year, has caught fire, hitting his 15th home run of the season on Sunday for what would be his final home run as a member of the Red Sox.
Devers was signed by the team in August 2013 and ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox system in 2016 and 2017. He ranked as high as No. 18 on the Top 100 Prospects list and was considered one of the elite hitting prospects in the game at the time of his promotion. Devers hit .284/.338/.482 with 10 home runs over 58 games as a rookie in 2017 at 20 years old. He would struggle in his second season, but helped lead the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2018. He leaves the organization with 215 career home runs, hitting .279/.349/.510 over parts of nine seasons in Boston.
RED SOX RECEIVE
James Tibbs, OF
Age: 22
San Francisco drafted Tibbs 13th overall last year out of Florida State. He split his pro debut between Low-A San Jose and High-A Eugene in 2024 and has spent all of this season at the latter level.
In the Northwest League this season, Tibbs started slowly but has gotten hot over the last few months. His overall numbers are depressed a bit by a BABIP of just .255, but he’s a well-rounded hitter who does a good job making contact and not chasing, and he hits the ball plenty hard, as well.
Tibbs should fit nicely in a corner outfield spot, and he’s spent all of his defensive time this season in right field, where his above-average arm should play.
Jordan Hicks, RHP
Age: 28
Once a fireballing reliever for the Cardinals and Blue Jays, Hicks made a successful jump to the rotation in 2024 after signing a four-year $44 million contract with the Giants. He put together a strong season last year, making 20 starts and pitching to a 4.10 ERA over 109.2 innings.
Hicks doesn’t strike out the amount of batters his mid-to-high-90s fastball velocity suggests. He is instead a groundball pitcher, boasting a 56.4% groundball rate in 2025. Hicks has struggled this season, as his 6.47 ERA suggests. However, ERA estimators are more rosy, as evidenced by a 3.59 FIP and 3.95 SIERA.
Hicks gives the Red Sox another starter on a reasonably cost-controlled contract who is also viable as a late inning, high-leverage relief option.
Kyle Harrison, LHP
Age: 23
A 2020 third-round pick by the Giants out of De La Salle (Ca.) HS, Harrison was a highly-rated prospect, ranking 30th in baseball entering 2023. Harrison has had a solid but unspectacular MLB career to date, and he’s often found himself as the odd man out in the Giants rotation.
Over 182.2 career innings between 2023-2025, Harrison has a career 4.48 ERA with a 22.8% strikeout rate to an 8% walk rate. The flatter vertical approach angle on Harrison’s fastball fits with the traits the Red Sox tend to target. He shares several similarities in terms of fastball shape to Red Sox prospect Payton Tolle, though Harrison is quite a few inches shorter.
At 23 years old with several seasons of control remaining, Harrison is an intriguing buy for the Red Sox, as some added velocity and a few tweaks to his arsenal could see him find another gear as a viable midrotation arm.
Jose Bello, RHP
Age: 20
Bello signed with the Giants in 2023 as a 17-year-old and has spent the entirety of his career between the Dominican Summer and Arizona Complex leagues.
The 6-foot-1 righthander is projectable and fronts a four-pitch mix with a fastball that has run up to 95 mph this summer, though some evaluators believe the pitch can come in a bit flat at times. He backs the four-seamer with a cutter that averages around 94 mph, a slider with late, darting life in the low 80s and a seldom-used changeup in the high 80s. The slider is the best of the three pitches thanks to his ability to command it both in and out of the strike zone.
Bello has a whippy arm and creates deception thanks to a crossfire delivery and a lower release height. He also shows a feel to spin and can manipulate all four of his pitches. The result this year has been 28 strikeouts and just three walks in 18 innings. Evaluators tab him as a potential middle reliever who can work multiple innings.
