On June 15, 2025, the Boston Red Sox stunned the baseball world by trading their superstar slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for a package consisting mostly of prospects and marginal major-league players. By the time the 2026 season started, the Red Sox had dealt away all of the players, except for one low-minor leaguer, they obtained for Devers.
One of the players cast aside by the Red Sox was left-hander Kyle Harrison, who, after appearing in just three games for Boston, was shipped to the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade that brought third baseman Caleb Durbin to Fenway Park.
Now, starting on Friday, Harrison will get to the World Series before any player currently on the Red Sox roster, except two. Of all current Red Sox players, only left-handed starter Ranger Suarez and 38-year-old closer Aroldis Chapman have ever appeared in a World Series — neither with the Red Sox.
Harrison has yet to pitch this postseason, despite being included on both the Brewers’ National League Division Series and Championship Series rosters.
The lefty now with his third team was born Aug. 12, 2001, in San Jose, California, and starred at De La Salle High School in Concord. He threw 10 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts for the 2019 U.S. under-18 team, then skipped UCLA for a $2.5 million signing bonus after the San Francisco Giants took him in the third round of the 2020 draft. He debuted in MLB on Aug. 22, 2023, and is the grandson of former major league lefty Skip Guinn.
Kyle Harrison’s Trade From Red Sox to Brewers
San Francisco sent Harrison to Boston on June 15, 2025, in the package for Devers, and the Red Sox optioned him to Triple-A Worcester. He went 4-2 with a 3.75 ERA in 12 starts there, then posted a 3.00 ERA over 12 innings in three big league games, two of them starts.
The Red Sox shipped him off to Milwaukee on Feb. 9, 2026, in a six-player deal that sent Durbin to Boston, according to MLB.com. Durbin had been the Brewers’ everyday third baseman in their 2025 playoff run and finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Boston got a proven infielder. Milwaukee, which had just traded Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, got a young arm with upside and team control.
The Red Sox had asked Harrison to build a changeup modeled on teammate Connelly Early’s kick change.
“I got this changeup out of it, so we’ll take it,” Harrison said after his short stint in Boston came to an end, as quoted by NESN.
Kyle Harrison’s Brewers Season and World Series Role
Harrison finished 11-5 with a 4.20 ERA across 28 appearances, 24 of them starts. His 11.0 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings were both career bests.
He struck out 12 Giants on June 2, Devers three times among them, and lowered his ERA to 1.57, according to Around the Foghorn. Left forearm tightness then sidelined him for a month. He returned in August, posted a 5.01 ERA and never worked past five innings in a start, according to the same report.
His August return did include one outing when he struck out the last eight batters he faced against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 5. Milwaukee later moved him to relief. His final regular-season outing was two innings without a hit or a walk.
Manager Pat Murphy kept him on the roster for both the division series and the championship series.
“If you look at his total body of work, it’s really good,” Murphy said, as quoted by Milwaukee Brewers On SI.
Harrison, Chad Patrick and Shane Drohan did not pitch against the San Diego Padres, and Harrison stayed idle through the four-game sweep of the Dodgers as well. Whether he will be included on Milwaukee’s active World Series roster has yet to be announced. Either way, if the Brewers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in the Fall Classic, Harrison comes away with a ring.
Red Sox Gave Up on Pitcher From Devers Trade, Now He’s Going to the World Series