The Kyle Harrison-Caleb Durbin trade is the second the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers have made since Craig Breslow took over as Boston's chief baseball officer. Given Breslow's history of trading with the same clubs over and over, it may not be the last one.
Harrison and Durbin are the headliners of a six-player exchange that helps the Red Sox add the infielder they've desperately searched for all offseason as well as unloading some pitching depth. Harrison's departure still leaves Boston with plenty of starters to fill a rotation and more, and he wasn't likely to land a spot among its starting five.
That doesn't mean he won't make an impact in Milwaukee, though, as the Red Sox have seen before. In early April 2025, Boston traded Quinn Priester to the Brewers for outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez and a competitive balance pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Like this season, the Red Sox entered last year with pitching depth to spare (although it had less in 2025) and considered Priester expendable. An injury to Tanner Houck, whom the Red Sox just placed on the injured list after he underwent Tommy John surgery late last season, and Priester's sudden dominance made the trade look shortsighted.
Red Sox should hope their Kyle Harrison trade with the Brewers doesn't age like their Quinn Priester deal
Priester posted a 3.32 ERA over 157.1 innings for the Brewers last season. He stayed largely consistent all year long, but posted an outstanding June, with a 1.98 ERA over 27.1 innings across five appearances (four starts and one relief appearance).
The righty doesn't strike batters out all too often, with 132 strikeouts last season and a 32nd percentile K rate. Priester is primarily a ground ball pitcher (like Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez), which is a questionable fit with a defense as inconsistent as Boston's, which could explain why it was keen to get rid of him so early last season.
Harrison also isn't a high-strikeout pitcher, but he has potential. The Brewers could help him fine-tune his command to make his four-seamer, which already boasts a 26.2% whiff rate, even scarier. Harrison also relies on his slurve with an impressive 28.4% whiff percentage.
The Red Sox didn't have Harrison for long, but Priester was hardly a roster staple, and it stung to see him find his way with Milwaukee when Boston could've used him. Hopefully, the Red Sox don't run into a situation that depletes their rotation depth to the point that they wish they would've held onto Harrison. Ideally, Durbin ends up being the kind of addition that keeps such regret from setting in, but anything can happen over a 162-game season.