Minor League Baseball

San Francisco Giants' Double-A Team Leaves Hilarious Note After Rafael Devers Trade

The Richmond Flying Squirrels' bullpen left a note for fans in Altoona on Thursday, telling them they could no longer give away balls for free due to Rafael Devers' $313 million contract.
Sam Connon|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants' payroll has exploded over the past 12 months, starting with the $151 million contract extension that third baseman Matt Chapman inked last August.

From there, the Giants went out and signed shortstop Willy Adames to a $182 million deal in free agency. Then, this past week, San Francisco traded for Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers, taking on the final eight seasons of his 10-year, $313.5 million contract.

With all that money getting shelled out to superstar big-leaguers, one of the Giants' minor league affiliates decided to poke fun at the franchise's financial standing.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants' Double-A squad, was on the road facing the Altoona Curve this week. Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Colin Beazley, the Flying Squirrels taped a sign up in their bullpen at Peoples Natural Gas Field, urging fans not to ask for free souvenirs.

"We cannot give you a ball," the note read. "We just traded for Devers and he costs a lot of $. Foul balls, yes we can hook you up."

Of course, the relievers were likely just joking around, using Devers' contract as an excuse to not have to interact with fans on the road. They wrote additional notes telling fans they could only sign autographs after the game – not during – and that they will be cool as long as the fans are cool to them.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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