A blockbuster trade that shook the MLB landscape involved power hitter Rafael Devers being shipped from the Red Sox to the Giants, giving San Francisco what could be the pivotal piece to their World Series aspirations and triggering a flurry of futures wagers on the Giants.
Disgruntled Superstar
Rafael Devers believed he was the Red Sox’s third baseman after entering only the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension. However, the team signed a Gold Glove hot corner player in Alex Bregman and asked Devers to switch to first base. That request was not well received by the newly minted superstar, and he refused.
Fast forward to June 9th, and the Sox designated hitter trudged to first base after hitting a ground ball to second on a throw he could have beaten against AL East rival Tampa Bay. Boston would go on to lose that game, 10-8, in extra innings, and the simmering tension between the All-Star and management hit a fever pitch.
Devers refused to move to first base despite his team desperately needing him at that position, and it was not long afterwards that the Red Sox had had enough and traded the disgruntled star to the Giants for what many believe is not enough compensation (pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison and a pair of prospects in James Tibbs III and Jose Bello). The Sox were rid of a headache, and the Giants were more than happy to welcome what they believe is the missing piece to a championship banner.
The Future Is Now
With this backstory, the Giants now have what they believe it takes to compete with the vaunted LA Dodgers. They are 2.5 games back of first place in the NL West as of this writing but feel they now have enough electricity in the lineup to power them through the end of the year and deep into the postseason.
The deal occurred on Sunday, June 15th, and it didn’t take long for the opportunistic bettors to jump on the Giants bandwagon. San Francisco received 23.5% of the bets and 62.4% of the handle between Sunday evening and Monday morning.
The odds came tumbling down at all of the online sportsbooks in the states as the consensus reflected the Giants’ NL East championship odds falling from +1300 to +800. As for their World Series odds, San Francisco went from +4000 to +3000 overnight.
“To get a guy like Devers … there’s a lot you have to give up for him, but this fits us perfectly,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the trade. “It’s a power left-handed bat, a guy that can go the other way and hit for power in our ballpark. I mean, it’s tailor-made for us, so kudos to the front office to swing this.”
Incidentally, Devers’ departure from Boston didn’t have an adverse effect on their World Series odds, as the line stagnated at +4000 and +1800 to win the pennant. The only fluctuation we saw was Boston’s division title chances dropping from +1,800 to +2,000.
