Does Kyle Harrison Still Fit the Red Sox's Long-Term Plans?

[Nick John]

There’s no doubt that Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox failed to capitalize on the trade of Rafael Devers. The much-maligned trade has garnered mostly negative conversation from the fanbase, especially based on the return package the team received for their star slugger. While the relationship between the organization and Devers had become fractured and beyond repair, looking back it feels like the return has been a bit of a letdown.  

Of the four players who were part of the return package, one (James Tibbs III) has already been traded in a separate, failed trade, one (Jose Bello) won’t be close to reaching the majors for a few seasons, and the remaining two (Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison) have been mixed bags. Despite that, Harrison may prove to be both the most intriguing and important piece of the trade. At least for the immediate present.

Harrison, who spent most of his time with Worcester after coming over in the Devers’ trade, made key changes to his pitch arsenal as he worked on a new changeup grip along with incorporating a cutter into his pitch usage. As always with a learning experience, there were ups and downs, but Harrison looked to have taken to the Red Sox approach, making 12 starts with Worcester and beginning to look closer to how he did as a rookie in 2023.

Then, needing pitching help, in September the team looked to him, and he helped the team by pitching both out of the bullpen and making two starts (including the postseason clincher). Overall, in those three appearances he looked like an arm the team could look towards for 2026, tossing 12 innings and allowing just four earned while striking out 13 batters. However, with the additions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo along with the presence of young pitchers Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and David Sandlin, Harrison may not be needed for the rotation. With that in mind, many have wondered just what Harrison’s role will be. And considering the level of talent the team gave up acquiring him it wouldn’t sit well with the fanbase for the Red Sox to just cast him aside.

Instead, Harrison’s role may actually be one that didn’t seem like a perfect fit at the start of the offseason. Placing Harrison into a swingman role similar to the one Kutter Crawford filled during 2022 and 2023 could be perfect for Harrison and the Red Sox at the moment. Currently the Red Sox have one guaranteed lefty in the bullpen in Aroldis Chapman while he’s likely to be joined by Jovani Morán, there’s nothing set in stone. Likewise, the team is expecting both Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval to return from their respective injuries but there’s nothing that guarantees they’ll return to their pre-injury selves immediately.

While the Red Sox could plug in both Tolle and Early as left-handed options either in the rotation or bullpen, the team may rather have them open the year in Triple-A to continue their respective developments after seeing how the duo performed in September with the Red Sox. This is especially true for Tolle who, despite displaying a phenomenal fastball, needs more work with his secondary offerings.

This is where Harrison steps in. Should the rotation need help he could fill the role of the fifth starter until another option becomes healthy and then be moved into the bullpen where he becomes a left-handed arm who can get right-handed and left-handed batters out while providing some length for manager Alex Cora. There are also many cases where the Red Sox could look to incorporate him as an opener who provides two to three innings due to a favorable matchup.

The thought of Harrison not having a defined role may be a bit of a turn off for the fanbase, but his versatility between the rotation and bullpen and the flexibility it provides the organization could be rather helpful across an entire season. As everyone saw in 2025, the pitching staff you open the season with never makes it through the entire year. Instead, players will be asked to step up and fill various roles for the organization. Harrison already showed he can pitch both as a starter and reliever and after a full offseason of working with the Red Sox pitching lab on his pitch arsenal he could look even more comfortable in a swingman role.

Harrison is still young, he won’t turn 25 until August, and the swingman role would be temporary until a permanent role in either the bullpen or the rotation is viewed as his final destination by the Red Sox. But for right now it would be a waste to have him rotting away in Triple-A for the 2026 season when he could be providing support to both the rotation and bullpen by bouncing back and forth between the two.

Of course, as a pitcher it’s never that easy considering that as a starter he would need to be stretched out in order to throw five or more innings. You don’t want to risk injury by getting a pitcher used to tossing an inning or two and then asking them to go out and give the team five innings. Most pitchers need time to be stretched out, work their pitch count up so that they can comfortably throw deeper into games. With that in mind, it would make more sense to keep him stretched out in the beginning, being the fifth starter or a long reliever who gives the team multiple innings until the team decides on a path for him for the full season. Even as a reliever, he could easily be slotted in as an opener for several games and provide three or even four innings depending on what is needed from the team.

There’s no doubt the Devers’ trade will never be viewed in a positive way, but Harrison has a chance to make it look not as bad as it currently does. Like everything in baseball there’s no guarantee, but should Harrison take the foundation he built in 2025 with the Red Sox organization and run with it he could turn into a key piece of their pitching staff for 2026 and beyond.

View full article