This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

When Rafael Devers smashed career homer No. 150 at Fenway Park on May 4, it wasn’t just some round number.

If you dig a little deeper, it serves as a sign of the damage Devers is likely to do over the course of his career with the Red Sox, which could put him in the pantheon of the franchise's great hitters.

By belting No. 150 in career game No. 721, Devers was the third-fastest player to get to 150 for Boston. 

The only two to get there faster have plaques at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Ted Williams got there in 664 games, and Jim Rice did it in 711 games.

“The Splendid Splinter” and “Jim Ed” spent their entire careers in Boston. Devers, who has a 10-year contract extension that begins next season, has a chance to do the same.

“It's cool to be mentioned with those names any time,” said Devers. “This is a franchise that I want to spend the rest of my career with, and to keep putting more numbers up along the way is great, and it's always good to be mentioned with those two.”

One can wonder how far Devers will climb atop Boston’s all-time home run chart before his career ends. Williams is the all-time leader at 521. David Ortiz comes in next at 483, then Carl Yastrzemski, at 452. Given that Devers isn’t 27 yet, he has a strong shot to at least make the top three. After Yastrzemski is Rice at 382, then Dwight Evans at 379 and Manny Ramirez at 274. 

“I just want to ask God for health first so I can continue doing what I can and accomplish goals,” Devers said. “Being mentioned in the same breath as guys like David Ortiz and Jim Rice is amazing, and I’m just trying to be a good example, just like those guys were.”

If Devers has a career number of home runs in mind, he doesn’t wish to divulge it.

“But you know, as a baseball player, everyone dreams of being up there in the rankings. And hopefully, I have that kind of career,” Devers said.