Rafael Devers played through a core muscle injury for most of a season, hit 37 home runs anyway, and is now getting cut open.
The Giants placed Devers on the 60-day injured list Sunday, ending his 2026 season. He traveled to Philadelphia on Monday to be evaluated by Dr. William Meyers, the same specialist who performed Matt Chapman’s season-ending bilateral core muscle surgery last month, with surgery scheduled for Tuesday if recommended.
The 29-year-old first baseman finishes at .258 with an .865 OPS, 37 home runs and 98 RBI. Those 37 homers are the most by a Giant since Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004. The 98 RBI are the most by a Giant since Hunter Pence drove in 99 in 2013.
He hit 11 home runs in his last 18 games and finished one shy of his career high of 38, set with Boston in 2021.
He never came out of the lineup
This is the detail that should bother San Francisco.
Devers started 148 of the Giants’ first 149 games. He did not get his first day off until Wednesday, Sept. 9. He was carrying an injury that manager Tony Vitello says has bothered him for years, and the team kept running him out there every single day.
“I think it’s something that’s bothered him for a few years now and kind of something that was a mystery to him,” Vitello said. “I think Dave Groeschner and our people did a great job of giving him relief. Pretty significant relief and a little bit of joy out of him to just have an answer to what it was that was popping up.”
Vitello added that Devers “will deal with the same doctor Chappy did, so to have relief, I think, is big on his plan.”
Two core muscle surgeries on two corner infielders in one season is a pattern worth examining internally.
The roster carnage is historic
To replace Devers, San Francisco selected outfielder Scott Bandura from Triple-A Sacramento. Bandura, a 2023 seventh-round pick out of Princeton, debuted at DH on Sunday and became the 67th player to appear for the Giants this season, a franchise record.
Sixty-seven players. In one season.
The injured list reads like a roster: Willy Adames with a left elbow sprain, Casey Schmitt after left knee surgery, Harrison Bader with a left foot issue, Chapman done. Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey were traded away.
Jung Hoo Lee is the only position player who started Opening Day and has neither been traded nor lost for the year.
What Vitello is selling
The Giants are 62-89 and eliminated. The manager’s pitch is entirely about next spring.
“As much as he was enjoying himself this year and obviously performing well, I think he’s pretty geeked up about next year,” Vitello said. “His confidence in next year’s success gives me confidence.”
Devers is under contract through 2033. That is the good news and the terrifying news at the same time. San Francisco has its middle-of-the-order bat locked up for eight more years, paired with rookie first baseman Bryce Eldridge.
They just need him healthy enough to play 150 games without needing a surgeon in September.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.