The National League West has long been the Los Angeles Dodgers’ domain. Since 2013, they’ve claimed the division title in all but one season, captured four NL pennants, and won two World Series championships. But a recent seismic move by their archrivals has suddenly cast doubt over their dominance.
Late Sunday night, the San Francisco Giants pulled off a blockbuster trade, acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. Devers was slashing .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs, 58 RBIs, a .905 OPS, and a 2.3 WAR before the deal—numbers that immediately bolster a San Francisco offense that had trailed Los Angeles in run production by 89 runs entering the day.
A New Power Emerges in the West
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As of Sunday, the Dodgers held a narrow two-game lead over the Giants in the NL West standings. But as Bleacher Report‘s Kerry Miller bluntly put it, that gap may soon vanish.
“The 2025 San Francisco Giants—who are two games behind LA in the NL West after Sunday’s 5-4 loss—just became a substantially more serious threat to win the division.”
The cost? San Francisco gave up some bullpen depth, but as Miller notes, “the arms they gave up to acquire Devers did nothing to change” what has been “arguably the best bullpen in baseball.”
L.A. Dodgers Misses on a Potential Devers Deal
Miller also points to a more subtle reason the Dodgers lose in this deal: missed opportunity.
“When the Devers/Red Sox drama reached a tipping point, it was Los Angeles who immediately made sense as a motivated suitor,” he wrote. “Instead of acquiring one of the best hitters out there, they’ll have to deal with pitching to him on a regular basis for the next eight years.”
The Rivalry Intensifies
With Devers now entrenched in San Francisco’s lineup for the foreseeable future, the Dodgers’ path to another division crown—and perhaps a World Series—just became more complicated. The Dodgers-Giants rivalry, already among baseball’s fiercest, is about to reach new heights.