The drama around Rafael Devers’ departure from the Boston Red Sox has overshadowed the trade that sent him to the San Francisco Giants. What about the players Boston received in the blockbuster deal?
The Red Sox acquired left-hander Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, minor-league outfielder James Tibbs III, and minor-league righty Jose Bello in exchange for their homegrown slugger. While Harrison and Hicks should be able to help the big-league club this season, Red Sox fans can’t help but wonder if they could have gotten more for a player of Devers’ caliber.
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Giants insider Alex Pavlovic shared his thoughts on the Red Sox’ return during Friday’s Early Edition.
“I was a little surprised by the overall return,” Pavlovic said. “I think just from what I know about this team and their system, I think it was a little bit light, probably.
“Having said that, I am a huge fan of Kyle Harrison, and I know the Giants are as well. He’s about a year and three months removed from being the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball.”
Indeed, Harrison was MLB’s No. 1 ranked left-handed pitching prospect heading into the 2024 season. The 22-year-old posted an underwhelming 4.56 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 24 starts, but those numbers were partially tainted by nagging injuries.
“Just some context on his career here: He looked really, really good when he came up in 2023. He looked like a future star here,” Pavlovic added. “Last year, he tried to pitch through an ankle injury and tried to help these guys because they needed the rotation help, and that led to some shoulder inflammation and really just set him back the second half of last year and put him in a tough spot in the offseason.
“But he did come back last month. He was throwing 96, 97 (mph), looked like the Kyle we saw two years ago. I will say, I mean, he is as mature a young man as I’ve ever covered here. So I think he’s gonna be a good one, I think the Red Sox did very well there. The rest of the package, they probably could have done a little bit better.”
Harrison’s boasts an outstanding high-90s fastball, but the Red Sox optioned him to Triple-A Worcester to work on the rest of his pitching repertoire. A reliable third pitch would help him immensely as he aims to work his way into Boston’s starting rotation.
As for the rest of the return, the hard-throwing Hicks spent his first seven MLB seasons as a reliever before joining the Giants starting rotation in 2024. He hasn’t fared well as a starter, compiling a 4.83 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 42 appearances (29 starts) over his one-and-a-half seasons in San Francisco. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Hicks will come out of Boston’s bullpen when he returns from the injured list.
Tibbs was the 13th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, one pick after the Red Sox’ selection of fellow outfielder Braden Montgomery, who was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of the offseason Garrett Crochet trade. The 22-year-old was San Francisco’s No. 3 prospect and hit .246 with 12 homers, 32 RBI, 42 walks and 45 strikeouts in 57 games for High-A Eugene this season.
Bello, 20, was signed by the Giants as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2023. He recorded a 2.00 ERA across eight rookie-ball appearances (18 innings) this season, striking out 28 batters and walking three.
Trading an elite hitter like Devers typically would bring a bigger haul, but the Red Sox managed to dump all of the $254 million remaining on Devers’ contract. Rather than focusing on the best possible return, Breslow and Co. jumped at the opportunity to get Devers’ money off the books.
Devers will play his first game against his former team Friday night when the Red Sox and Giants begin a three-game series at Oracle Park.
