PTI - Rafael Devers joins the San Francisco Giants... WHAT HAPPENED?

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss the U.S. Open, the NBA Finals, and a shocking trade that sends Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's National Wishfulfillment Day, Tom. Do you have any wishes you'd like fulfilled?

I'm Tony Cornheiser, world peace, good fortune, an effective topical ointment for this thing that's growing on my thigh. I could use that. All right, all right, all right. We're starting to family show here. I think that's funny. An effective topical ointment. That's a good name for a rock and roll band.

An effective topical ointment. I like that. Welcome to Pete. PTI, boys and girls. In today's episode, the Red Sox Field Rafael Devers. The Pacers and Thunder are back on the court, and Shohei Atonix, back on the mound. We begin today with JJ Spawn winning his first major in the rain at Oakmont. Spawn finished minus one after birding 17 and 18 to counteract a string of bogeys on his front night. Spawn was the only golfer under par, so in that sense, Oakmont won. Wilbon, you watched all of it, as did I. What is your reaction

to what Spawn did and how he finished it. Tony, it was a scream-out loud reaction for me at least three times in the final seven or eight holes for J.J. Spawn. I mean, the 40-foot birdie putt, I think it was on 12, which I was on the phone with you and I'm just screaming out loud. By myself in my house, and then the drive,

you know, in 17, did 314 yards to the pen, and he goes driver and everybody, it seemed, like 90% of guys had gone driver and they wind up in the five and a half inch rough or they wind up in one of the bunkers and they can't make it work. They certainly don't wind up putting for Eagle like he did and tapping in for Bertie

and then the putt to win it. I mean, just all of it. And Tony, it's juxtaposed to hitting the flagstick and having it bounced 60 yards away where you've got to go. You've got to wedge back to a shot that could have gone in. Just all of it.

And then his demeanor. It's all about him for me. And the other people played central roles. When the thing started, I was rooting for Adam Scott. I was rooting for him for much of the weekend. But his demeanor and talking about what he had to do, waking up at 3 in the morning to go to CVS, to look for something to help his daughter

who wasn't feeling well overnight, his infant daughter. All of it. All of it, just who he was and who he revealed himself to be. I'm in love with the story tone every inch of it. Yeah, so I'm going to take a while here, and I'm going to talk about things I believe in. I believe that they were very late in calling the golf off for the first time. When it was raining, it was pounding rain. There was pounding on the greens.

There was water in the fairways. I believe they were late on that. I believe they should have done it a second time as well, and they should have finished that tournament today. And I believe that the USGA did not want that to happen because they wanted that Father's Day audience on television between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. with no competition at all from the NHL or the NBA. I believe that Sam Burns was hosed on that decision to make him play from water that you could see. You could see the ball was in water. I believe it cost Sam Burns his chance to win the tournament because when he birded 10, I thought he was going to win the tournament. And I believed that J.J. Sporn was hopelessly out of it.

He bogeed five of the first six holes. He was done, put a fork in him. Get out of here. I believe that. And having said all that, Mike, I also believe that the U.S. Open got a worthy champion, a deserving champion. Sporn won this. Nobody lost it. He won it.

He was minus three on the back. He birdied 17 and 18 to win a major. You know how many people have done that? Very few is the correct answer. And I think that ultimately, Mike, I think that put 50, 60, 70 feet, whatever it was. The fact that it went in erased all the bad memories that anybody could have had about the decisions that were made leading up to that. And they got NBC and the USDA got their father's day gift because he's there with his wife and his kids. And his dad is there.

It gets all of it. So yeah, deserving. So you and I, loved it. We're in accord. We are in accord on that. Let's move to game five of the NBA. finals tonight, Indiana at Oklahoma City. The series is tied two to two after Indiana squandered a fourth quarter leading game four. They were outscored 31-17 in that quarter. Each team is

won on the other's home court. Wilbon, which team is under more pressure to win tonight? I think OKC, I think. But, Tone, the thing about the NBA finals and the Stanley Cup final is, I don't know what I don't know anymore. I mean, the one. Wild swings, the unpredictability of it to drama, if you will. I don't know. I'm just going to sit and enjoy it. I don't want to pick it. But I think Oklahoma City is because I don't think you want to go back to Hoosierland

having to win to stave off elimination. When you're the favorite, when you have been in control of the season, to some small, tiny degree, the finals at this point, 2-2 with home court advantage. And Tony, Shea Gildedgildes-Alexander, you've, I mean, he had Halliburton, has it been a standoff, kind of? But there was, I'm going to say this, and you know how tough it is for me to go here. There's been a Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant-like quality to some of the things

Shade Gildes Alexander's done. When you're behind and you hit that step-back three, and then you come back with that, you're staggering, you're about to fall, you get that two, maybe you pushed off, maybe you didn't, I don't care. There are moments of that that look like championship basketball to me. from Shea Gilgis Alexander, who looks like the perfect star, not just a great star, the perfect star, but you've got to cash it in to finalize that. Yeah, so I've been wrong, consistently wrong on this series.

I thought that Oklahoma City would win four games in a row after they lost game one, and instead they won one in a row because then Indiana won game three. Now, I did think that Oklahoma City would win game four, so I was right about that. And I will pick them to win tonight based on what I have. said throughout the entire playoffs, which is that they've been the best team in the NBA all season. They have been the best team. But in terms of who's under more pressure, so, okay, so if Indiana loses, they're down three, two, and they face elimination. But if Oklahoma City loses, the down three two, and they face elimination, and they face it at Indiana. Yeah, they've already

won in Indiana, but these are the NBA finals. How many road games you think you're going to win? What if you're only going to win one? So, you know, I sort of think it's a coin flip as to who's under the most pressure. I will say this, though, if Oklahoma City wins tonight, Indiana will rue that fourth quarter. I mean, they had it on their racket, Mike. They had it on their racket. They made one basket in the last five minutes. They scored one point in the last three minutes. They missed all eight of the threes they took in the fourth quarter. They melted down. And if they lose this series, it goes back to that, I think. Probably does. Agree, Tone. No disagreement. They are now to a big move by the Boston Red Sox.

Sox traded Rafael Devers to San Francisco for two players and two prospects. Devers have been unhappy since the Sox moved him off third base to make way for Alex Breggman. But he'd been hitting well as a DH, 15 homers and the third most RBI in all of baseball at 58. Tony, what does this deal tell you about the Sox and what does it tell you about the Giants? Okay, so I don't think anybody who follows baseball can be surprised that Raphael Devers was traded. He made himself tradable when he became a very bad teammate and spit in management's eye. Spring training, yep. Spin training, yep. Spin management's eye. And then so they said, okay, so then it became, where can we move him where he will hurt us the least? So they traded him out of the division. They traded him out of the American League. They traded him as far.

far away in the country as you could go, and they said, good riddens, get out. I think this is a great trade for San Francisco. As you mentioned, he's got, after a terrible start, he's got the third most RBI in all of baseball. He is a power hitter. This is a remarkable number. I don't like numbers, but the last time the Giants had a player who hit 30 homes, not 40, not 50, 30 home runs in a year was Barry Bond's 21 years ago. So they desperately need a power-hitting guy, which Devers is. So, I mean, I think it's a really good trade for them. Plus, I mean, it's a very competitive division. And he's got star power, like sort of the guys on the Dodgers, have star power. I don't know what it does for the Red Sox, Mike. I'm struggling to figure it out. You know,

they traded Mooki Betts. It was a terrible trade. They replaced them with Devers. Now they traded Devers. I don't know. They appear law. Well, the prospects have to be a lot better than they've been to this point. The prospects have to, they have to cash in there. And teams often do that. We look back at trades six, eight, 11, 20 years earlier, and we go, oh, how'd they get this guy? And you come in a trade like this, but it's not particularly promising at this point for Red Sox Nation. If you're sort of listening to what is coming out of New England and the disappointment they have,

the Muky Betz situation is what compounds it. And to me, Devers ain't bets, all right? I mean, Betts is an MVP. Devers is not that level. But to get rid of both of them suggest you're like some mid-market team and you don't have the money and you don't want to do it, everybody says, well, they owe him $200 and whatever million by 2033. So what is the rest of stocks?

But the Giants, Tony, more importantly for now, and you're right about bonds, of course, I know that number I do care about. It ain't something 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, and 5. That's home runs in a lineup. And San Francisco, I think, was third fewest runs produced in baseball this year. You got to fix that now in that division with Arizona, the Padres, and the Dodgers, and they sought to do it with one big move.

Absolutely. It feels today like a big win for Buster Posey running the Giants. You don't know. but it feels like a big win. Let's take a break. Coming up, Shohei is back on the mound tonight. What is reasonable to expect? And does a Desmond Bain trade say more about the Grizzlies or the magic? Do you feel the same way I do?

I couldn't take my eyes off the open. I couldn't take my eyes off. Oh, I watched every swing. I watched every swing. Yeah. It was theater. No, it was total. Time to give opinions to the minions.

in mail time. Let me see what's first to him. Start with this. Glass is on. What a reasonable expectations for show Hanani's return to the mound tonight. Tony, you know, it's interesting when you sort of read and listen to what people expect. And I know he's been doing these simulated sessions. I went to this thinking when I heard the announcement that he was going to pitch tonight. I was thinking, well, maybe, you know, two to three innings, but it sounds like less and that sounds like they just want to get him out there and they've got to get over this and it might seem ceremonial at some point but you know they're counting on them they don't have to do anything they don't have to make any roster adjustments because he's already on the roster so it's

not like they got to call somebody up and demote somebody and have a slot no they don't they don't need to do any of that the dodgers want to see show hey out there they've got this this this movement of pitchers based on all the injuries this has been going on for a couple of years now and it's already included show hey. So, but just to get him out there, I don't know. What am I supposed to get? 26 pitches and, you know, you know, 19 for strikes and a certain velocity. I don't know what it is they're looking for.

I just think the notion of seeing the great show hey, out on the mound again for the first time in nearly two years is there's great value in that. Yeah. So, I mean, I think the first question you have to answer is, is he ready to? to pitch. Is his arm okay? I mean, that, that to me is a big thing. I don't expect him to pitch more than, you know, one inning or 20 pitches. Maybe if he has a clean inning and his 10 pitches, you put him out there for the second to begin the second, because you can bring in a reliever anytime you want. But, Mike, I don't personally expect him to have a clean inning. The questions you answer are, does he have command of his pitches? Does his ball move? Do you see it move? Can he?

He throws strikes. What we are seeing is a laboratory experiment right in front of our eyes because you can't throw bullpen the whole time. You got to go out on the mound. Right. You have to do this. Live hitting. Live hitting.

His record is fabulous. 38 and 19 with a 301 ERA in all the times he's pitched. He had 608 strikeouts in 481 innings. Can he be that again? I don't know. I want to see the beginnings of it here. We're not going to find out that to that. It's the start of it.

No, but this is the beginning. This is the journey of 10,000 steps starts with the first one. Oh, here's your wheelhouse. Is the Desmond Bain trade more about the Grizzlies or the magic? The magic. The magic. Because in the east, you can make a move, and Orlando was already making one with Boncaro and Franz Wagner. Franz Wagner.

Those guys, one is an all-star and the other one's going to be an all-star. And then you get Desmond Bain, who can be that. and Orlando struggled in that area and they get a guy who can both shoot volume of threes and do a lot of other things and hit 40% of them. But he can also defend. He can put the ball on the floors you see. And it gives them a core four.

I mentioned Wagner and Bancaro and Suggs when healthy. And they got four guys who are a court. They're not a finished team yet. But when you got Boston and Milwaukee in flux and you're going to be behind initially, The Knicks, Cleveland, Indy, and the Pistons. It still moves you up depending on what the Celtics and Milwaukee become. You move up into the mix.

And who knows what Memphis is going to do? Because you got a guy who's a complete and utter wild card in John Morant. You can't count on them. You don't know what you can do with them. So right now it's Orlando and Anthony Parker. I mean, the GM, good job out of him. And your mom, Mosley, the coach. I like what Orlando's doing.

Love what Orlando's doing. Right. So you say the answer is the magic, and then I say too much magic, too much magic. My answer is it means more and says more about the Grizzlies. And I would remind people, Mike, that you had the Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals for most of this season.

When they were in second seed. That's right. So, okay. So they fired their coach with nine games to go, and now they have traded their second best player. So it says to me, we're not counting on the present. We're counting on the future here.

Maybe they want to take these draft picks and build a team around John Morant rather than blame John Moran for the mess that they're in, which they could do, by the way. They could blame John Moran for all this stuff. I think it's a good trade for Orlando because of the threes.

I think that's a good thing, and I would just say this in closing, that Memphis probably got more for Desmond Bain than the Red Sox got for Raphael Devers. Enough email. Let's take one last breath. Still to come. An Arkansas pitcher does something

that hadn't been done since 65 years ago. And Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese both put up big numbers and wins this weekend. Third best player, Tony. You've got to put Jaron Jackson after job.

I do I have to? With the numbers that Bain had? Defensive player of the year, defensive player of the year makes you give you some stats. I love Desmond Bain. I take him. I'll take him right now.

I'm just saying triple J. They need big people in Orlando. They need a... Happy time, people. Happy 26th birthday, Justin Jefferson. The Vikings wide receiver had 103 receptions last year for 1,33 yards and 10 touchdowns. Jefferson averaged 14.9 yards per catch.

He was offensive player of the year in 2022 and was first team all pro that year and this past year. At LSU, Jefferson teamed with Jamar Chase, and they caught passes from Joe Bolton. Burrow. In their undefeated national championship season, Jefferson had 116 catches for 1540 yards and 18 of Burroughs 60 touchdown passes. The overarching question for the Vikings' offense is how will it work now that Sam Darnold has left for Seattle? Will J.J. McCarthy find Jefferson the way that Darnold did? Tony, if you think I crossed the line earlier in the show by mentioning SGA in the same

breath as Kobe and MJ, I'm going to do it again. Justin Jefferson is the only guy, a lot of great receivers, but I look at him and sometimes I think of Jerry Rice. Sometimes there are just some moments he plays up to that incredible level. Jerry Rice, the gold standard. Justin Jefferson may be that in the league full of great receivers now. Agreed. Happy anniversary, Mario Soto and Claudel Washington. This is posthumous for Washington, but on this day 41 years ago, after getting brushed back in a previous at bat, Washington, Washington let go of his bat while swinging on the first pitch from Soto.

Instead of retrieving the bat, Washington approached the mound to confront Soto. As they were about to go at it, Soto threw the ball at Washington from about five feet away. Umpire Lanny Harris got the worst of the entire exchange as he was knocked down early on as he tried to stop the fray. Now, we concede this is probably not socially redemptive to celebrate this behavior. But it is terrific video. Yeah, and I'm sure he places yet another, what could be another Michael Jordan anniversary. Tony, I'm just glad that those brawls are largely removed from baseball and largely removed from the NHL. And just we don't need them.

Not just the video, we don't need the activity. Happy Trails Trinidad and Tobago. The U.S. men's national soccer team responded to last week's alarm by pasting Trinidad and Tobago. in both teams' Gold Cup opener. The Americans are ranked 16th in the world, and the Soka Warriors are just 100th. But it wins a win. And this one ends Team USA's longest losing streak in nearly 20 years.

Next up, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, followed by Haiti on Sunday. Taylor Twelman told us last week it's a disappointment if the United States does not make the Gold Cup finals. Well, so they could be less hysteria from those looking for results from Team USA, at least for a few days. We would also like to note the passing of Tom Howard. Our friend, the original director of PTI, passed away yesterday.

Tom called the shots in the control room of this show from day one until he retired at the beginning of 2022. Tom made everything here look so good for so long, creating a playbook for the show and setting a standard we will try to live up to without him, our love and deepest condolences to his family. Let's go to the big finish if we could. Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals are reportedly talking.

That's significant, isn't it? Only if they get a deal, extension, or whatever you want to call it, a redo tone. He's been the sack guy for the last two years. They need him, Arkansas's Gage Wood. Through a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts against Murray State in the College World Series today. Got to be impressed. It was a personal hitter in the College World Series in 65 years. My notes say that he hit a batter, and there was one.

error and that's how people got on. Caitlin Clark had 32 in her return win against the Liberty and Angel Reese had a triple double and a sky win over the sun which is the bigger deal. I've done enough Hoosier slurping lately. It's a bigger deal for the sky who need the win

more. Bigger deal to this person in Chicago. The Nats have lost eight straight but have the Rockies coming into town tonight drought over? So 10, 12 days ago The Rockies beat the Marlins in a series. I think they beat him three nothing in games.

The Marlins just came into Washington over the weekend, and they swept the knacks. So I don't know that the drought is over. I don't. Last one, D.C. Defenders won the U.F.L. title beating the Michigan Panthers. How are you going to remember that? UF.Ls, that's like the United Fighting League?

I don't really know what's going on with that. You didn't watch, did you? Congratulations, by the last time. Out of time. Do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser. I'm Mike Wilbon. same time tomorrow, knuckleheads.

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