The Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers' offseason trade involving Kyle Harrison and Caleb Durbin has finally been completed, as the compensatory round pick that changed hands in that deal has resulted in the Sox selecting Owen Hull with the No. 67 overall selection.
That trade has begun to age gracefully in other ways, too. Durbin has been riding a hot streak since the start of June, leading Boston in fWAR in that timeframe. His 140 wRC+ in that window is also one of the best marks on the team, behind only All-Star Willson Contreras and Connor Wong.
Meanwhile, all hasn't been sunshine and rainbows over in Milwaukee. Harrison has hit a wall in his debut season with the Brewers, working to a 5.34 ERA over his past seven starts prior to the All-Star Break. His under-the-hood numbers are still impressive — he's got a 3.04 xERA and 29.6% strikeout rate during this "slump" — but he's now dealing with a bout of elbow soreness that could portend darker times ahead.
Former Red Sox Kyle Harrison has come back to earth for the Brewers. He has a 6.15 ERA over his past six starts after posting a 1.57 ERA in his first 11 starts.
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) July 9, 2026
There's obviously still a lot of ground for the Red Sox to make up, but this deal is turning out to be not quite as terrible as we all feared earlier in the season.
Red Sox's gamble on pitching depth paying off during Caleb Durbin's hot streak
What's really worth highlighting about this turning of the tide is the fact that the Red Sox's bet on their pitching staff is actually paying off. Even with Garrett Crochet spending most of the first half on the injured list, the rotation has become a huge strength of the team this year behind Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, and Payton Tolle.
The team has survived tons of injuries (and a Brayan Bello meltdown) thanks to their great depth, of which Harrison was once meant to be a key piece. It was a risky proposition to deal him (and Shane Drohan) in a deal that returned no pitchers, but give Craig Breslow credit for building out a talented and deep crop of starters. Not every team's pitching staff would be able to survive the loss of an arm with a 3.01 ERA.
Durbin's season-long stats are still pretty ugly — he's got an 87 wRC+ and an OPS below .700 — but he's back in respectable territory. And his turnaround at the plate has coincided with a long-term injury to Roman Anthony and the complete collapse of Jarren Duran, making his presence in the lineup all the more important.
No one should be arguing that the Sox won this deal, but it's also become less of a blowout in favor of the Brewers. That's really all we could ask for given how poorly this saga had started.
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