The Boston Red Sox's current front office took another hit to its legacy on Sunday in connection with the regrettable Rafael Devers trade.
In a salary dump move, Boston traded right-hander Jordan Hicks (one of the "prizes" of the Devers deal) along with promising right-hander David Sandlin and an additional $8 million to the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.
With Hicks now gone, left-hander Kyle Harrison is the only remaining Red Sox player received in the Devers trade who has any present value (unless you're banking on Jose Bello surging through the minors).
Along with Harrison, Bello, and Hicks, the Red Sox also received highly-touted outfielder James Tibbs III from the San Francisco Giants in the infamous June 15 Devers trade. However, Tibbs was soon traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (just before the deadline) for Dustin May in an emergency move that yielded nothing good for Boston. May is now a St. Louis Cardinal.
Only a stellar Red Sox career from Kyle Harrison can forgive the Rafael Devers trade now
So the Red Sox basically traded Rafael Devers and David Sandlin for Kyle Harrison, José Bello, Gage Ziehl, and six bad Dustin May appearances.
— Nick Diamond (@NDiamondMedia) February 1, 2026
If you group together this succession of trades, the overarching outcome is ugly for Boston. Sadly, the Red Sox ultimately traded their franchise slugger, along with Sandlin and $8 million, for a return of Harrison, Bello, and Ziehl. Yikes.
The situation looks even worse when you consider the fact that the entire Devers drama, rooted in his forced move from third base, was caused by Boston's need to cater to Alex Bregman, who is also gone.
There's really no way to frame the Devers transaction as anything but a disaster for Craig Breslow and Boston's front office; that is, unless Harrison becomes a game-changer for the Red Sox's rotation.
That's an unlikely outcome, especially when you're talking about 2026. Harrison probably wouldn't factor into Boston's rotation if the season started tomorrow, and it's looking like only injuries to other arms would thrust Harrison into a regular role. The Red Sox added Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, and Johan Oviedo to a group of starters that already had Harrison looking like a depth piece.
As Red Sox fans are lamenting the Devers trade all over again with the Hicks news, Harrison is surely diving into the grind this offseason and preparing for any opportunities that come his way in 2026.
It's tough that Harrison's Red Sox tenure is already painted with the dark hue of the Devers ordeal, as he's now under extra pressure to produce, else Raffy's departure will have truly been for nothing. Even if Harrison turned into something like a No. 2 starter for the Red Sox (absolutely wild best-case scenario), it feels like Red Sox fans still wouldn't get over the Devers mess.