SF Giants use trade route to buck longstanding trend with star players

The SF Giants landed a star player in Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in a five-player deal. They have not had much luck at landing star players over the past several decades, but team president of baseball operations Buster Posey used the trade route to buck that trend.

SF Giants use trade route to buck longstanding trend with star players

We do not need to reopen those old wounds. For years, the Giants have swung and missed at landing the top targets in free agency and on the trade market. This is not a recent trend, even if some of the recent misses still feel especially raw.

The misses range from Vladimir Guerrero to Alfonso Soriano to Bryce Harper to Aaron Judge. During his playing career, Posey was even involved in recruiting Jon Lester and Shohei Ohtani, but they both spurned the Giants in favor of a different option.

Posey is quickly and quietly rewriting that narrative as a member of the front office. His first act in charge was landing Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million deal. The Giants executive completed that deal behind the scenes, and while many big market clubs were recruiting Juan Soto. It was a pre-emptive strike in a market that would have likely turned to Adames once Soto signed.

The early returns on that deal have not been promising, but thew veteran bat could be turning the corner after a strong week at the plate.

For the past several years, the Giants have had to battle the narrative that San Francisco is not an appealing place to play. With Posey in charge, that narrative might be quickly shifting, and the addition of Rafael Devers is another example of that.

Hey, signing star free agents is tough. You have to compete with other teams while agents leverage all inputs to get the largest payday possible. It is a tough game to play, but trading for a star player sidesteps that process.

The Giants did not need to get into a bidding war for Devers. They are assuming the remainder of his 10-year, $313.5 million deal. The trade route bypasses any inherent frustration that comes with missing out on a top target.

Giants fans know this feel all too well. Their luck looks to be turning, as they are forming a growing nucleus of players consisting of Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Logan Webb, and Jung Hoo Lee. That identity is not only observable to fans, but prospective free agents as well.