The San Francisco Giants’ 2026 season will ultimately go down as a bust. Instead of fighting for a spot atop the National League West standings, first-year manager Tony Vitello’s squad is fighting with the Colorado Rockies to stay out of the divisional basement.
While it’s been a disappointing year overall for the club, left-handed slugger Rafael Devers has put together a typically impressive campaign at the plate. But what’s noteworthy about his performance is the way in which he’s reached certain heights in the power department during his first full campaign in San Francisco after being acquired via trade in June 2025 from the Boston Red Sox.
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A Quick Look at Rafael Devers’ 2026 Season
If you look at Devers’ 2026 triple slash, nothing specific jumps off his Baseball Reference page. Through his first 133 games (564 plate appearances), he’s hitting .246/.324/.486. That feels like a step above what he did across 90 games in 2025 (.236/.347/.460), but his OPS between these two seasons is essentially the same (.807 in ’25 and .810 in ’26).
However, his performance in the power and run production departments is what’s worth shedding light on. At the time of this writing, Devers has compiled 29 homers, 31 doubles, 76 RBI, and 74 runs scored.
This is already his eighth season of 20-plus homers. Once he hits one more round-tripper, it’ll be the fifth time he’s reached the 30-homer plateau (and the first time he’s done it in consecutive seasons). It’s the seventh time he’s registered at least 30 doubles, and if he reaches 80 RBI and 80 runs scored, it’ll be the seventh time he’s reached those heights in the same season.
That kind of dependable production is something the Giants have literally been lacking for decades. They’ve shown it wasn’t necessary to win multiple World Series titles. But, if given the choice to have it or not, every big-league ballclub would want a dependable run producer penciled into the lineup every day.
Here’s What He and Barry Bonds Now Have in Common
Oracle Park is far from a hitter’s paradise. It’s consistently been a pitcher-friendly environment each year, and the numbers back up that claim once again in 2026.
According to Statcast, Oracle ranks as the fourth-worst park for hitters overall, and it’s been the second-worst stadium in baseball for home runs. But none of this has bothered Devers — in fact, he’s been a better hitter at home than on the road.
Through 296 plate appearances as a visiting player, he’s hitting .246/.331/.454 (.785 OPS) with 12 homers, 23 RBI, and 37 runs scored. But if we look at what he’s done in front of the home crowd through just 268 plate appearances, his power numbers look much different. While he’s slashing .246/.317/.521 (.838 OPS), he’s paired it with 17 home runs, 53 RBI, and 37 runs scored.
That number of home runs is significant, as MLB.com’s Sarah Langs pointed out this week:
Rafael Devers has 16 home runs at Oracle Park this season
That’s the most at the venue since Barry Bonds hit 16 there in 2007
Devers and Bonds (6x) are the only players to hit at least that many homers there in a season https://t.co/OEaaXxnrUK
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 26, 2026
It’s been nearly 20 (!) years since the last Giants player slugged at least 16 dingers at home. Even more noteworthy is the fact that since Oracle Park opened in 2000, nobody other than Barry Bonds has accomplished such a feat in a single season.
That’s wild. And for Devers, you know you’re doing something right when your name is mentioned in the same breath as Bonds.
Giants’ Decades-Long Power Outage Feeling Like a Distant Memory?
Heading into the 2025 season, the Giants had a power drought that they had been trying to snap for a while. Before that campaign was underway, the most recent San Francisco slugger to record a season of 30-plus homers was also Bonds, when he hit 45 for the Giants in 2004.
Thankfully, that drought was finally snapped last year thanks to shortstop Willy Adames, who slugged 30 taters on the button for the club. While Devers finished his campaign with 35, he only had 20 in San Francisco following his trade from the Red Sox. At the time of this writing, Raffy is on the verge of making it two years in a row, and the first time fully as a Giant. He won’t turn 30 years old until October, so he probably has a few more chances to keep doing it since he’s under contract through 2033 (assuming he remains with the Giants the whole time).
Although a winning campaign would’ve been better, Devers’ performance in the batter’s box has been as expected, and it’s something that can anchor a lineup.
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