With former Red Sox great Dustin May taking the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals against his former team this evening (how many cheesy dad jokes will there be about the “Early May” pitching matchup this evening?), it got me thinking about the levels of the Rafael Devers fallout. Even if you were in favor of dumping Devers’ “underwater” contract, or felt that his decision not to “just pick up a glove” warranted a trade, it might be the subsequent moves that are more bothersome.
The Red Sox received pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III, and pitching prospect Jose Bello in the deal. The only player who remains with the franchise is Bello, a 35 FV prospect who is in A-ball.
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Harrison was sent to Milwaukee as part of the Caleb Durbin deal. He has opened the season with two strong starts (1-0, 2,61) with 14 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. According to Brewers reporter Curt Hogg, “The Red Sox tried teaching him a new kick changeup last year, but Kyle Harrison couldn’t ever figure out. Fast forward to one grip suggestion from an old Giants teammate and trade to the Brewers later, and he’s suddenly discovered a new, nasty pitch.” Wonderful.
Tibbs only played 30 games at Portland before being flipped to the Dodgers for five subpar starts from the aforementioned Dustin May. Tibbs had a .900 OPS at Double-A for them last year, and now, albeit in the launching pad Pacific Coast League, he has seven bombs in twelve games, good for a 1.376 OPS and a 252 wRC+ at Triple-A.
Jordan Hicks had an 8.20 ERA for Boston in 21 games. There’s a strong argument to be made that he was the worst relief pitcher the team has employed for that many outings in this century. He was moved to the White Sox this winter, and the team had to attach prospect David Sandlin just to get rid of the contract. But not all of the contract. The Red Sox are still paying Hicks $4M this year and next. Hicks has a 7.94 ERA with Chicago and a negative-11.1 K-BB% in six outings.
Which of these things bothers you most: Devers, Harrison, Tibbs, or Hicks? Sound off in the comments, and be good to each other.
