Rafael Devers trade screws over current and former Cubs players

Rafael Devers is a San Francisco Giant after a bewildering trade from the Red Sox, and his presence in the senior circuit is going to make life harder on every National League contender.

Still, while his impact on the field can't be minimized, Devers is having an ancillary effect off the field on a pair of beloved Cubs players, whose All-Star candidacies have taken a huge hit with the 28-year-old now in San Francisco.

Seiya Suzuki, Kyle Schwarber tumble down All-Star voting after Rafael Devers trade

In case you missed it, the Chicago Cubs are polling extremely well after the first round of All-Star voting by fans.

They have someone in the top five of voting at every position in the National League, including Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, who are by far the leading vote-getters in the outfield.

However, Seiya Suzuki, who was the second-leading vote-getter as of Sunday, has now been pushed down to third behind Devers, who was leading the American League DH vote by a mile.

Likewise, former Cub Kyle Schwarber is also moving a spot down in the rankings to fourth. The All-Star rosters tend to carry two designated hitters maximum (and sometimes only one), and the 400,000+ vote deficit both Schwarber and Suzuki now face to Devers could prove to be insurmountable.

And for those of you wondering why Devers' votes carry over from the American League, I'll point you back to a very similar situation from a decade ago that the Cubs themselves caused when they traded Jeff Samardzija to the Athletics ten days prior to the Midsummer Classic in 2014. The "Shark" attended that year's All-Star Game, though he was without a team to represent due to all of his votes coming during his time in the NL.

Of course, both Schwarber and Suzuki could still make the game by way of the players' ballot or the Commissioner's Office. Remember, a change made in 2017 resulted in All-Star skippers no longer having a say in selections, so Dave Roberts of the Dodgers won't be able to influence the selection of the reserves in the NL.

Still, the odds that the National League rosters more than two designated hitters is slim at best.

Suzuki is slashing .261/,318/.529 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and a 134 wRC+ (1.6 fWAR). Schwarber, meanwhile is slashing .244/.379/.538 with 22 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a 153 wRC+ (2.0 fWAR). In any other time period when Shohei Ohtani and Devers weren't present in the NL, they'd make for a heck of a DH pairing in the All-Star Game.

Phase one of the MLB Fan Vote comes to a close on June 26 and will determine the starters from both leagues, with full rosters being revealed on July 6. The All-Star Game will take place on July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.