SAN FRANCISCO — The first question that came to mind when the Giants announced that Rafael Devers was done for the year was one wrapped in amazement. How did Devers manage to hit 37 homers and drive in 98 runs while dealing with a core muscle injury that likely will be repaired by a surgeon on Tuesday?The second question is almost as interesting. Why now?
Devers hit 12 homers over what ended up being his final 21 games in 2026. There were signs during the course of the year that he was a little banged up — manager Tony Vitello mentioned health limitations often and Devers surprisingly sat on Wednesday, snapping his consecutive games streak — but he also was the hottest hitter in the big leagues. He didn’t look like someone who needed surgery with 13 games left in the season.
But Vitello said Sunday that this has been the plan for some time now, and the Giants had gotten to a point where they felt Devers needed to start the rehab process. Vitello said the Giants “kind of pushed it to the brink” date-wise, noting that they also needed to work with the schedule of Dr. William Meyers, a specialist in Philadelphia who...