Rafael Devers is SF Giants' surprising iron man, but there's only 1 way that will continue

While the SF Giants as a team have not done very well since the blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox last year that brought Rafael Devers to the Bay, Devers himself has largely performed like he has most of his career.

He’s certainly had some cold streaks but he hit 20 home runs with San Francisco last year and has already hit 30 homers this season before September. What may be even more impressive is the fact that he has played in every single game since getting traded for the Giants.

No one would have thought Devers would be the team’s iron man, especially since Matt Chapman and Willy Adames have a reputation for always being out on the field, but he has played in all 138 of the team’s games this year and actually played in 163 games last year which is remarkable.

Even though Devers can certainly attract the wrong kind of attention at times, one has to commend his willingness to be in the lineup every single day especially when you look around the league and see guys like Ketel Marte abandoning their team and then hanging out at a casino.

Devers is likely going to be in San Francisco for a long time as his contract goes through the 2033 season. While the hope is he can stay healthy during the duration of his deal, there’s really only one way that will likely happen: if he becomes a permanent designated hitter.

Giants need to make Rafael Devers a full-time DH to keep him in the lineup

We know Devers wouldn’t like that. He’s been clear that he enjoys playing in the field and while he has gotten better at first base since last year the numbers show that he has not been a very good first baseman this season.

Bryce Eldridge makes a lot more sense as the team’s everyday first baseman given the fact that he is so big and provides a huge target for infielders and because he’s usually better at picking the ball out of the dirt. Eldridge is far from perfect and he has plenty of room to grow, but he is clearly the superior option. Keeping Devers out of the field as much as possible should help him stay healthy and make for less wear and tear on his body.

Now the question is whether Devers would be amenable to full-time DH duties. We know that he didn’t love being made a full-time DH in Boston so the Giants will have to go about it carefully. Maybe a 70-30 time split between he and Eldridge at first base would be smart for the short-term so Devers is at least out there sometimes but Eldridge is still out there most of the time. Over time they can whittle that number down lower and lower.

If Devers is going to remain valuable for the Giants throughout the duration of his contract, he needs to stay in the lineup. Moving him towards being a full-time DH is the best way to do that to ensure he stays in the batting order and can keep on hitting homers.

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