The San Francisco Giants won three World Series titles in the decade after Barry Bonds retired from baseball.
But in that span, and in every year since Bonds’ departure, the Giants have lacked something.
They haven’t had a hitter tally 30 home runs since Bonds left.
They made the move to change that on Sunday in the blockbuster deal to acquire Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox.
And one stat sums up Devers’ possible impact, via MLB’s Sarah Langs: Converse to the zero 30-homer seasons with the Giants in the years since Bonds, Devers has three 30-homer seasons in his career.
He’s genuinely bringing a level of thump to the San Francisco lineup that it hasn’t had in a long time.
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The Giants have seemed to genuinely pursue big sluggers in free agency but have struck out. Some reports indicated they were very close to landing Aaron Judge a few years ago.
Maybe if they had ever completed a few of those contracts, things would look very differently in all of our lives.
But San Francisco couldn’t actually find its slugger until making a trade for one out of the blue.
And anytime you can have a guy replicate even a little of what the legendary Bonds did, you’ll take it.
Devers should be a fan favorite who launches plenty of homers into McCovey Cove. And if he can end the 30-homer drought and potentially cruise right by that mark, his impact will be felt even that much more.
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