Red Sox-Brewers History Bodes Well for Milwaukee in Caleb Durbin Trade

On Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired a talented Boston Red Sox pitcher who was once a top prospect, but appeared to be blocked from the rotation heading into the regular season.

If that storyline sounds familiar, it's because the Brewers did the same thing last spring. And although the context was different this time, as Milwaukee was giving up its starting third baseman in Caleb Durbin, there's a lot of reason to be excited about the new rotation candidate in Kyle Harrison.

Because after all, if the Brewers could get a stellar season out of Quinn Priester in 2025, it's hard to even find the ceiling for what Harrison could be in Milwaukee moving forward.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Brewers showed blueprint for Harrison's success with Priester

Oct 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester (46) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game one of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

It's easy to forget, because he put up a 3.32 ERA and 13-3 record last season, but Priester was barely in the picture for the Red Sox last spring. He was buried in Triple-A to begin the regular season and probably ranked around eighth on the depth chart. It's not too dissimilar to where Harrison projected to be in the mix for the rotation.

Harrison, 24, is coming to Milwaukee with more upside than Priester seemed to have at the time. Priester owned a 6.23 ERA in 99 2/3 major league innings from 2023 to 2024, and Harrison's got a 4.39 mark in 194 2/3 innings over the last three seasons with the Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.

Plus, Harrison was frankly a more highly-touted prospect than Priester when both were on the verge of their major league debuts. He throws harder, he's left-handed, which always helps, and he's got a unique fastball shape that will give hitters fits if he can develop consistent enough secondary offerings to keep them off balance.

Don't sleep on the potential impact of Shane Drohan and/or David Hamilton in this deal, either. The Brewers had to feel like they were getting a lot of upside if they were going to deal away the third-place Rookie of the Year finisher, and three more pieces to boot.

More MLB: Brewers' Moves Likely Not Done After Red Sox-Caleb Durbin Surprise