How Did Red Sox's Kyle Harrison Perform In First Outing Since Rafael Devers Trade?

Life must have been a whirlwind for new Boston Red Sox pitcher Kyle Harrison since arriving in the Jun. 15 trade with the San Francisco Giants for Rafael Devers.

No pressure, kid. You've just been traded for one of the 10 or so best hitters in all of baseball, but you're joining a team that still says it wants to make the playoffs. You're probably going to join the rotation eventually, but first, head to Triple-A and revamp your whole arsenal.

Harrison was a big-time prospect in San Francisco but after his up-and-down rookie season in 2024, he split his time between Triple-A and the majors earlier this season. He was scheduled to start for the Giants on the evening of the trade, but instead, his next game action would come 11 days later in Scranton, Pa.

Harrison threw four innings on Wednesday night for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox in his organizational debut. The 23-year-old allowed four earned runs on eight hits (including a home run to veteran major leaguer Bryan De La Cruz), walked one, and struck out four.

Harrison has a big fastball, but the Red Sox are trying to tap into a cutter and a sinker, neither of which he featured heavily on Thursday night. Baseball Savant said he threw 11 sliders in his 76-pitch outing, but at least a few of those were cutters.

Overreacting to the stats from a Triple-A start is never a good idea, because pitchers who expect to reclaim a major league roster spot usually go into those outings with more specific goals than keeping runs off the scoreboard.

But seeing Harrison give up two hits per inning against Triple-A competition while wearing Devers' old number 11 felt somewhat ominous. Especially as Devers hit a 438-foot home run on the other side of the country.

It remains to be seen when Harrison will pitch for the Red Sox for the first time, but Boston retains another year of team control if he remains in the minors until after Jul. 4.