Bizarre SF Giants trade rumor linking Rafael Devers to Padres is just too insane to work

It’s almost exactly one day until the MLB trade deadline is here and that means the rumors are coming hard and fast. One linking the SF Giants to a trade that would send Rafael Devers to the San Diego Padres seems somewhat legitimate, but it’s just too crazy for it to work.

This came via Joel Sherman of the New York Post who wrote that Padres executive A.J. Preller has “considered ways” to acquire Devers who Sherman notes has been a long-time target for Preller.

Sherman did not report that talks were serious or that a deal was imminent so maybe all this amounted to was a few conversations between Preller and the Giants about Devers but nothing beyond that.

Plus, as any readers of this site know and as Sherman mentions as well, Devers’ contract is just so difficult to move. To move him within the division also seems highly unlikely but we know the Padres have been aggressive at the deadline in the past so maybe if Preller is motivated he will get something done.

A major sticking point would likely be how much money the Giants would need to take on in order to move Devers. He’s owed over $200 million so any team would want the Giants to pitch in some cash. Does Buster Posey really want to be reminded of the fact that he’s paying Devers to hit homers against the Giants the next seven years?

It was bad enough when the Giants paid Blake Snell deferred money to win a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers so odds are the Giants do not want a repeat of that. Perhaps the only way to get a deal done would be if San Diego agreed to take on the contract in its entirety but it's doubtful they'd be willing to do that.

Giants may not even want to trade Devers after his turnaround

At this point Devers has flipped the script enough that the Giants likely don’t feel a desperate need to trade him. While he had a terrible start to the season, he's turned things around and his numbers are respectable now as he’s hitting .249/.322/.475 with 22 home runs and 61 runs batted in entering Sunday’s game.

His contract still might not age all that well but at least for right now he looks like a better investment than Matt Chapman and Willy Adames who have both underperformed this season.

It’s still noteworthy if it’s true that the Giants and Padres did have any sort of discussions about Devers but it really seems like the left-handed slugger is going to stay put in San Francisco.

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