Soon!
Rafael Devers has yet to play first base in a Major League Baseball game, but that’s going to change pretty soon. A lifelong third baseman, Devers has exclusively played at designated hitter this season, appearing without a glove in all 81 games that he’s played in, which includes eight for the San Francisco Giants.
But the slugger, acquired in a trade a week and a half ago, has been taking grounders at first base, and is nearing a debut there. The Giants have been careful with ramping up Devers to first base — understandable given how his tenure with the Boston Red Sox ended — but they’re nearing a point of comfort. Before Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Marlins, Giants manager Bob Melvin said that there’s a good chance Devers will play at first base at some point during the team’s upcoming 10-game road trip, which kicks off on Friday with a visit to the Chicago White Sox.
Bob Melvin said Rafael Devers could play first base during the upcoming road trip.
Devers took a lot of grounders at first base yesterday.
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) June 25, 2025
The Giants have been playing Wilmer Flores and Dominic Smith at first base lately, but it’s a precarious plan. It’s clear that the team wants to keep Flores’ bat in the lineup as often as possible, but that they don’t want to wear him out by playing him in the field regularly. When Devers is ready to don a glove, it seems likely that he’ll play first base most days with Flores acting as a regular designated hitter, and Smith serving as a pinch-hitter and late-game defensive replacement.