Red Sox-Giants Trade Allows Rafael Devers to Make Weird MLB History on Final Day

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Apparently 162 games wasn't enough for Rafael Devers this year.
Heading into the final day of Major League Baseball's regular season, the former Red Sox star has already played in 162 games on the season. Boston dealt him to the Giants in mid-June, ending his eight-year tenure with the team. San Francisco and Devers's season hasn't went to plan since the trade as the Giants' season will come to a close Sunday after their game with the Rockies as they try to finish the year an even .500.
Devers hasn't missed a game in a Red Sox or Giants uniform this season. Boston's schedule was one game ahead of San Francisco's when the trade went down, which means he will play in his 163rd game of the year Sunday. He becomes the first MLB player to play in 163 games in a year since 2008, according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic.
Rafael Devers will play his 163rd game, becoming the first to do that in MLB since 2008 and the first Giant since José Pagán played 164 in 1962. The Red Sox had played one more game than the Giants at the time of the trade and Devers hasn't missed a day in either spot.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 28, 2025
Justin Morneau played in 163 games for the Twins in '08 due to a tiebreaker against the White Sox to decide the AL Central. When the MLB expanded its postseason in '22, tiebreaker games were removed to resolve ties at the regular season, which made the feat all the more rare.
The big trade paved the way for Devers to play in 163 this year, but it could be a long time before we see anyone accomplish the task again.
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Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.