Giants Shut Down Rafael Devers, Call Up Scott Bandura for September Stretch

The San Francisco Giants just officially pulled the plug on Rafael Devers for the rest of the year, moving him to the 60-day injured list right as the September stretch run gets sweaty.

A 60-day IL stint in mid-September is just front-office speak for "see you in spring training." To fill the empty locker, San Francisco selected the contract of outfielder Scott Bandura.

The timing of this injury update is objectively brutal for a team trying to survive the National League gauntlet. The Giants just dropped two straight tight games to the San Diego Padres, giving up exactly seven runs in both matchups.

That mini-skid stings even more considering San Francisco had just swept the St. Louis Cardinals in three straight one-run nail-biters earlier in the week.

Losing a bat like Devers right now is the kind of roster blow that makes you want to stare blankly at a wall. You do not just replace that kind of production with a quick call-up, no disrespect to Bandura, who is walking into a clubhouse that desperately needs a spark.

Anyone holding Giants futures or betting their daily run totals is going to have to aggressively adjust their math without Devers anchoring the lineup.

San Francisco has to figure out its new reality immediately. They close out their series against the Padres tonight before packing up and heading to St. Louis for a road rematch with the Cardinals.