Red Sox's First Roster Move After Rafael Devers Trade Will Enrage Boston Fans

The Rafael Devers trade is going to take a long, long time to digest. But the Boston Red Sox aren't getting a lot of grace in the immediate aftermath.

Trading the face of the franchise is a tough thing to pull off. The Red Sox upset a lot of people on Sunday by sending Devers to the San Francisco Giants for a seemingly mediocre four-player package.

Clearly, the trade was mostly about a relationship that couldn't be repaired and getting the remaining $250 million-plus on Devers' contract off the books. But you'd also like to think the players you're getting back can help win some games this season.

That's why the first move the Red Sox made in the aftermath of the Devers deal is likely to ruffle a lot of feathers.

According to a report from Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster, the Red Sox are optioning left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, one of the main pieces they got from the Giants in the deal, to Triple-A Worcester. Harrison had been the Giants' scheduled starter on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 23-year-old southpaw had a 4.56 ERA in eight appearances for the Giants this season, including four starts. He began the year at Triple-A after making 24 starts in the majors last season, in which he had an identical 4.56 ERA.

Harrison, once a top-25 overall prospect in the MLB.com rankings, could be a key arm for the Red Sox, and he comes with five years of control. But from an optics perspective, trading Devers for a swingman in Jordan Hicks, plus three minor leaguers, is a brutal look.

In fairness, there wasn't an obvious opening in the rotation, as Brayan Bello, Walker Buehler, Lucas Giolito, and Hunter Dobbins all pitched well this week. But Harrison will have a lot of pressure on him to deliver when he evntually pitches for the Red Sox, and now he won't even get to do that right away.

This trade can't fully be judged until we find out what Boston plans to do with the quarter-billion dollars they saved on Devers' contract. But right now, the vibes aren't great around Red Sox Nation.