The San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox stunned the baseball world by completing one of the biggest trades in the past year—well ahead of the MLB trade deadline, which is still six weeks away.
In the deal, the Giants landed three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Rafael Devers from Boston, sending back lefty Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, and prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello. Along with Devers comes his massive contract, still valued at over \$250 million, as he heads west to San Francisco.
This blockbuster doesn’t just impact the two teams involved—it sends ripples across the league.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, the implications are clear: the competition ahead of them just got a lot tougher.
With the Giants now boasting Devers, their hold on the second NL Wild Card spot (with a 41–31 record) becomes even stronger. The Padres, right behind at 39–31, along with the Brewers (39–34) and Reds (37–35), now stand between the Cardinals and a playoff berth. Even before this trade, St. Louis faced an uphill climb—now sitting at 4–10 in June after dropping a series to Milwaukee, their odds look even slimmer.
The Devers acquisition sharply upgrades San Francisco, while the Cardinals appear poised to make only minor adjustments—if any at all—before the deadline.
San Diego remains a more talented team on paper, and Milwaukee just beat up on St. Louis in a four-game set. The talent disparity between the Cardinals and the top NL contenders is becoming increasingly evident. The Devers trade only deepens that divide, and with more impact moves likely on the horizon, the Cardinals are falling further behind.
While there’s always a chance for an underdog to make a run in October, it helps to have elite talent—and that’s something the Cardinals are lacking compared to teams like the Giants, Dodgers, and Phillies. Sure, St. Louis holds series leads over LA and Philly, but they also have losing records against lesser teams like the Mets and Brewers.
The San Francisco Giants trading for Rafael Devers firmly cement the St. Louis Cardinals as sellers at the MLB trade deadline.
All signs point to the Cardinals becoming sellers at the trade deadline. They have valuable trade chips in Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, Steven Matz, and Erick Fedde. They might also explore deals involving veterans like Sonny Gray or Nolan Arenado, or test the market for underperforming young players.
Deadline season typically favors sellers, and John Mozeliak capitalized on that last year by flipping expiring contracts for promising prospects like Thomas Saggese and Tekoah Roby. He could do something similar this year, potentially leaving Chaim Bloom with a top-10 farm system on his way out.
At the end of the day, the Cardinals simply aren’t on the same tier as other playoff hopefuls—and the Giants’ bold move for Devers just widened that gap. Unless something dramatic changes, St. Louis should embrace their position as sellers this July.