With Rafael Devers struggling pretty badly for the SF Giants, naturally fans are coming to question the wisdom of last year’s trade with the Boston Red Sox for the left-handed slugger. Those questions are only growing louder as the centerpiece on San Francisco’s side of the deal, left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, is looking more and more like a budding ace.
The Red Sox are a dumpster fire right now after firing basically their whole coaching staff so obviously they got rid of Harrison by trading him to the Milwaukee Brewers before he showed his ace-like potential. Milwaukee is now reaping the rewards as Harrison just had his best start of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Giants may come to regret giving up Harrison to get Devers
He pitched six shutout innings and allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out 12 batters. Now on the season he has a 2.28 ERA through five starts and 23 and 2/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out 30 batters while walking just eight.
This was the dream San Francisco had for Harrison when they drafted him. The Bay Area product was the most exciting left-handed pitching prospect in the organization since Madison Bumgarner and in 2023 he showed his potential. 2024 was a struggle though as his velocity dropped and by 2025 the Giants were in a place where they were willing to move on from him in order to try to improve the offense.
Harrison’s fastball is back, though. It’s averaging roughly 95 miles per hour and his slurve and changeup have been effective pitches as well. He’s always been effective with that deceptive delivery as that fastball seems much faster than it actually is out of his hand. The 24-year-old is looking like an ace in the making thanks to Milwaukee’s ability to get the most out of its pitchers and the Giants have to at least be a little worried that’s what he’ll become.
Meanwhile, Devers is looking like a shell of the guy he was at his best in Boston. He’s hitting .216/.256/.306 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in for the Giants. He’s struck out 36 times and walked only six times. He’s also been avoiding the media which is never a great look.
It’s too early to say that Devers is a bust or that the trade was a huge mistake, but it’s fair to be concerned. What if he’s lost it and he’s never the hitter he was with Boston while Harrison goes on to be a strong starter for the Brewers? That would be the ultimate insult to an injured wound filled with salt that came back to bite you, to mix metaphors just a bit. It also doesn’t help that James Tibbs III, another top prospect the Giants gave up in the Devers trade, is on fire in Triple-A for the Dodgers organization.
Or maybe Devers will pull a Barry Zito and stink for years before having some sort of magical playoff run to help the Giants win a World Series. That would make everything worth it, but until then it would be nice if he started hitting some dingers so every strong Harrison start doesn’t feel like a punch to the gut.
