The Boston Red Sox shook up the MLB world when they decided to trade Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The timing of it was strange, as the Red Sox had just finished off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees to get over the .500 mark, but they had simply had enough of Devers, a disgruntled player who was unwilling to put the team first.
Trading Devers, considering the circumstances, made some sense, but it felt as if the Red Sox's main goal was to clear his contract rather than receive an acceptable return. The return looked incredibly light at the time, and looks even worse now.
Jordan Hicks struggled mightily with the Red Sox coming out of the bullpen, and he's now on the Injured List. James Tibbs III was traded for Dustin May, another pitcher who also struggled with the Red Sox and is on the IL. Jose Bello is in rookie ball, nowhere near making an impact in the majors, if he will ever get that far.
This leaves Kyle Harrison as the only player who can really make an impact down the stretch, and the Red Sox appear ready to place their postseason hopes onto his shoulders.
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Red Sox lean on Kyle Harrison to try and save season
Harrison was in Triple-A from the moment the Red Sox acquired him until Sept. 10 when he was called up to pitch out of the bullpen. Harrison impressed, delivering three scoreless innings against the Athletics, allowing him to stick around. Not only is he still with the team, but Harrison is expected to start Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
I don't know how deep Harrison is expected to go, but regardless, starting a game against a fairly competitive division rival is a whole lot different than pitching out of the bullpen against the Athletics. This is a lot of pressure to place on a guy who the Red Sox clearly believed wasn't good enough to contribute even a month ago.
While the Red Sox are asking a lot out of Harrison, the matchup against the Rays should be favorable.
Kyle Harrison can exploit Rays weakness
The Rays have many exciting offensive players, but while they're a potent offense against right-handed pitching, their 84 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers is good for 22nd in the majors. Harrison, of course, is a left-handed pitcher. Here are how some of their key hitters have performed against lefties.
Rays Position Player | wRC+ |
|---|---|
Junior Caminero | 114 |
Yandy Diaz | 134 |
Christopher Morel | 89 |
Brandon Lowe | 43 |
Jake Mangum | 61 |
Josh Lowe | 35 |
Chandler Simpson | 86 |
Taylor Walls | 64 |
Eight Rays position players have over 100 plate appearances against lefties and only two of them have a wRC+ over 90. Six of the eight are at least 10 percent below league average at creating runs against left-handed pitching. Again, Harrison is left-handed. Why can't he pitch well, especially since he held the Athletics, a team with a collective wRC+ of 104 against left-handers, entirely off the board?
Red Sox need Kyle Harrison to step up in worst way
It isn't fair to pin this on his shoulders, especially since he hasn't been with the Red Sox for most of the year, but the Red Sox need Harrison to step up. Their 7-8 record in September has not only dropped them to the third Wild Card spot, but they're only 1.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for that spot. They do have a bit more wiggle room than that since they have the tiebreaker over Cleveland, but still - it's far too close for comfort.
The Red Sox need to figure out a way to stack wins in the worst way. Having a big bat like Rafael Devers would help a lot, but that ship has sailed. The only player from that trade who can conceivably make an impact right now is Harrison. All Red Sox fans can do is hope he can find a way to deliver them a crucial win on Saturday to keep their postseason hopes alive.