ESPN.com senior writer Buster Olney ranked Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet and closer Aroldis Chapman both as the fourth-best players at their respective positions recently.
The longtime MLB insider revealed his ranking of baseball's top-10 first basemen on Thursday, and while Boston's Willson Contreras narrowly missed the cut (he was among seven honorable mentions), former Red Sox All-Star Rafael Devers appeared on the list.
The San Francisco Giants standout was ranked eighth in Olney's group.
Devers is behind (in order from first to seventh) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Matt Olson, Nick Kurtz, Pete Alonso, Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper and Josh Naylor.
"Members of San Francisco's front office say they believe Devers will become a solid first baseman as he works with new infield instructor Ron Washington, and there has never been any doubt about whether he can hit," Olney wrote. "Even through his tumultuous 2025 season, Devers still finished with an OPS of 140, right in line with his career numbers, and he hit 35 homers. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts in his first full season in Oracle Park, where he had an uncharacteristic 59 strikeouts in 48 games and batted .234 -- numbers that suggest he might have been trying to muscle up in a pitchers' park."
The three-time All-Star posted 15 home runs, 58 RBIs and a .272/.401/.504 slash line across 73 games with Boston last season (all as a designated hitter) before being traded to the Bay Area in June.
Devers had 20 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .236/.347/.460 triple slash with the Giants in 90 contests during the 2025 campaign.
The 29-year-old appeared in 60 games as San Francisco's designated hitter, 29 at first base and one at the hot corner.
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