Giants Baseball Insider

Has Rafael Devers' Back Injury Caused His Poor Giants Tenure?

Could this be the reason why Rafael Devers' San Francisco Giants tenure has started slow?
Brad Wakai|
Jul 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) reacts after striking out to end the fifth inning leaving a runner on third base against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park
Jul 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) reacts after striking out to end the fifth inning leaving a runner on third base against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

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San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants believed they were getting a difference maker this past offseason when they signed Willy Adames to a lucrative deal to become their shortstop of the future.

Things haven't exactly played out that way, though.

Adames has struggled mightily during his first year in the Bay Area, looking like a shell of himself on both sides of the ball that started to make people feel nervous about his large contract.

Thankfully, the slugger has gotten hot in the summer months and just reminded everyone of his ceiling as he played hero in Game 1 of their rivalry series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

More News: Giants Star Willy Adames Reminds Everyone of His Ceiling During Win Over Dodgers

However, while the Giants were waiting for Adames to turn things around, new president of baseball operations Buster Posey did not hesitate to make another splash, pulling off a shocking blockbuster trade that brought Rafael Devers to town.

With multiple star players now littered throughout San Francisco's lineup, the hope was their middling offense would kick into high gear.

Unfortunately, Devers has been a dud during his Giants tenure.

In 23 games, he is slashing .220/.350/.354 with just two homers and nine RBI, posting an OPS+ figure that's four points above the league average, but still a far cry from what he's done in the past.

Nobody is overly concerned about the elite hitter getting off to a slow start, and perhaps that's because he is dealing with an injury.

Manager Bob Melvin revealed that Devers underwent an MRI on his back, something that revealed he has a disk injury in his lower back.

More News: Giants Slugger Receives Positive News After Undergoing MRI on His Back

Thankfully, San Francisco doesn't believe he'll need to miss any time by going on the injured list, and they think he can be an effective hitter even with this issue.

This injury could explain why Devers has not gotten off to a great start with the Giants.

The All-Star break will give the slugger some time to heal and get treatment on his back, with further assessments mapping out a plan for how he can deal with this disk problem for the rest of the year.

More News: Giants Can’t Afford To Have Strength of Team Falter in Second Half

San Francisco needs him to be an elite hitter for them.

Hopefully this back injury doesn't prevent that from happening.

For more Giants news, head over to Giants On SI.

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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently is the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. He is also a contributor at FanSided, writing about the Philadelphia 76ers for The Sixers Sense. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai

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