First Baseman Rafael Devers' Stint in San Francisco Has Turned Into a Circus

Considered to be the team's offensive leader heading into the season, the slugger hasn't live up to expectations, and his attitude hasn't been much better than his performance.

San Francisco Giants first baseman Rafael Devers | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

There's no clowing around about it: the San Francisco Giants' 2026 season has turned into a confusing calamity. For a team that should be in contention for a Wild Card spot at this point can't even be taken seriously as an MLB team right now.

Following Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Athletics, the club is now 32-46, 18 games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 18 games. They remain mired in fourth place in the division, currently just two games above the Colorado Rockies.

The difference is, the Rox are on the books for around $120 million this season; 'Frisco has $225 million invested in their squad. And quite a bit of that money is tied to a slugger who has turned into a sideshow.

Rafael Devers, whom the Giants acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox in the middle of last season, has not only failed to live up to offensive expectations. He's also been a PR problem. The perception among many fans of the Bay Area Nine. They see the first baseman as powerless at the plate and a folly in the field.

Rafael Devers is now deflecting venom towards the media, after he disrespected his manager and a rookie teammate.

What a disgrace! What an idiot! This is even worse than the original incident itself... pic.twitter.com/qfQtT13kmY

— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) June 24, 2026

The 29-year-old is hitting .238 with 11 home runs, 37 runs batted in, and a .732 OPS through 78 games played. He's also committed only two errors at first base, but his range is limited, and he hasn't shown an aptitude for picking throws in the dirt.

On top of that, he has been labeled in the past for being lazy when it comes to improving his glove work, something the Giants and their fans can't afford to entertain.

Devers Recent Behavior Has Been Disgraceful

Devers, hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Devers had a reputation as being a ringleader in the Red Sox offense during his time in Beantown, but his time under the Bay Area big top has been unproductive and unserious. He looks nothing like a leader and more like he's juggling who he was in Boston with what he has become today.

Whether it's an attitude or issue or he simply doesn't enjoy playing for the Giants organization, the former visage of Devers looks like it's been held in front of a funhouse mirror. It's a distorted version of his previous accomplishments.

And his recent on-field antics, where he seemingly refused to be lifted for a pinch runner, late, in a close contest? It would take a contortionist to twist the incident into 'no big deal'. But in yet another example of his lack of accountability, Devers attempted to anyway.

When asked about the situation in an interview, Devers threw mud at the media, stating that it was the media blowing things out of proportion and “it’s a reflection of why I really don’t talk you guys, to the media.”

"You guys just blow everything out of proportion, and I think that's a reflection of why I really don't talk to you guys."

After explaining his side of Sunday's saga, Rafael Devers expanded on why he isn't a big fan of media. pic.twitter.com/QefO1VXsfR

— KNBR (@KNBR) June 23, 2026

This carnival of confusion has left the Giants trapped with a poor record, payroll problems, and the most frustrating star just ignoring most of the show playing out in front of him. And it's caused Devers to receive massive backlash in San Fran. They say everybody loves a clown. But in the case of Giants fans, not when that clown is their most important player.