Red Sox's Caleb Durbin-Kyle Harrison Trade Optics Couldn't Look Worse

Can't even properly celebrate a sweep

Apr 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) hits an RBI double during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

A trade that very few dared to criticize the Boston Red Sox for making in February is increasingly becoming a black mark on their 2026 resume.

Even as the Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, they continued to tarnish their own investment in third baseman Caleb Durbin. For the third time in four games, Durbin found himself on the bench in favor of recent Triple-A call-up Nick Sogard.

Meanwhile, across the Midwest in Chicago, every member of the six-player trade with the Milwaukee Brewers that the Red Sox gave up was dominating the Chicago Cubs. The headliner of the deal, starting pitcher Kyle Harrison, has officially arrived at a point where the Red Sox look idiotic for giving him up.

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Durbin, Harrison heading in shocking different directions

Apr 27, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox thrid baseman Caleb Durbin (5) reacts after hitting an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

When the Red Sox acquired Harrison from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, they spent most of the summer tweaking his arsenal at Triple-A Worcester. He only threw 12 regular-season innings for the Red Sox before being shipped out. 

The biggest adjustment the Red Sox made was to have Harrison start throwing a kick-change, and that’s become an effective offering to round out his arsenal. His unique fastball shape has been a factor as well, but all told, he’s holding opponents to a .591 OPS with a 32.2% strikeout rate. 

Durbin entered off the bench in Wednesday’s game and went 0-for-1, dropping his league-worst OPS (among qualified hitters) to .492. There’s a legitimate case to be made that he should be dropped to Triple-A at this point if the Red Sox are going to have any chance at salvaging him for the long haul. 

Meanwhile, just to rub salt in the wound, lefty Shane Drohan has become a long-relief weapon for the Brewers, while David Hamilton (who isn’t having a good season on the whole) hit a triple and a Little League home run against the Cubs on Wednesday. 

There’s not much Durbin, nor Andruw Monasterio for that matter, can do to salvage the Harrison trade for the Red Sox if the lefty keeps pitching to a sub-two ERA. In a season that’s still been quite disappointing even after a three-game sweep, optics have very much become the problem for Craig Breslow’s Boston front office.