Red Sox Trade Enabled Rafael Devers To Accomplish 17-Year MLB First

It's wild to think about how different this season could have played out had the Boston Red Sox not moved on from Rafael Devers.

Devers was unquestionably the team's best hitter at the time of the trade, but he was also becoming a headache both publicly and within the walls of the Fenway Park clubhouse. He was shipped to the San Francisco Giants with 8 1/2 years left on his $313.5 million contract in one of the most stunning in-season trades in recent memory.

As the Red Sox were preparing to play in the playoffs for the first time since Devers led them in homers in 2021, the 28-year-old slugger wrapped up his first half-season as a Giant in style with his 35th home run. But just by taking the field on Sunday, Devers made some wacky baseball history.

Devers led all of baseball with 163 games played

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Rafael Devers (16) takes the field before their game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

At the time he was traded, the Red Sox had played 71 games, but the Giants had only played 70. And he was in the lineup not only for San Francisco's next game, but each and every game they played from that point forward.

As Major League Baseball's social media accounts pointed out on Sunday, that made Devers the first player since 2008 to play 163 games during the regular season. That feat was last accomplished in 2008 by Justin Morneau, whose Minnesota Twins had to play a tiebreaker game to decide the division title.

Only five other players appeared in all of their teams' games this season: Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Elly De La Cruz, Matt Olson, and Brent Rooker.

While Devers' offensive stats were slightly worse after the trade than they were beforehand (130 OPS+ as a Giant, 151 as a Red Sox), it is far too early to state that San Francisco should regret taking on the final $254.5 million he was owed by Boston. He happily complied with the Giants' request to play first base, slugged 20 home runs in 90 games, and seemingly uplifted the other bats around him in August and September.

Boston and Devers' parallel paths will always be scrutinized, but for now, it's fun to look back and appreciate his season as a statistical anomaly.

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