If playing in 162 games is the ultimate mark of durability for position players, Rafael Devers is doing them one better. The Giants slugger is batting third as San Francisco’s DH for the regular-season finale on Sunday against the Rockies at Oracle Park in what will be his 163rd game of the 2025 season.
Devers appeared in 73 games for the Red Sox before his June 15 trade to San Francisco, making his Giants debut in their 73rd game of the year. He is set to become the first player to play in more than 162 regular-season games since Justin Morneau in 2008, when the Twins and the White Sox were forced to play a Game 163 tiebreaker.
The last player to play in more than 162 games in a single season as a result of a trade was Todd Zeile in 1996. Zeile played 134 games with the Phillies and then 29 more after he was dealt to the Orioles, who played 163 games that season due to a suspended-game tie against the Rangers. (MLB rules at the time recognized stats from a suspended game but still required the matchup to be made up as a separate game on the schedule.)
Since the American League switched to a 162-game schedule in 1961 (the National League would follow suit in 1962), only 29 players have played 163 or more games in a season. Postseason spots have been determined by mathematical tiebreakers since 2022, negating the need for a Game 163 tiebreaker and making a midseason trade the only avenue to the feat.
That Devers realized the unique accomplishment is even more remarkable considering the 28-year-old slugger wasn’t fully healthy when the Giants acquired him on June 15. Devers dealt with a nagging groin injury that initially limited him to DH duties, though he managed to overcome the issue and make his first career appearance at first base on July 22.
The Giants nearly gave Devers a full day off on Aug. 24 at Milwaukee, but he ended up entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, which kept the possibility of a 163-game season in play. He hasn’t been out of the starting lineup since.
