Get to know new Red Sox pitcher Kyle Harrison, acquired in Rafael Devers trade
WORCESTER -- Despite a whirlwind 48 hours of being traded, packing, traveling, and arriving in Worcester with his new team, Kyle Harrison was all smiles when talking about the fresh start he has in Boston.
The left-handed pitcher, who was one of the main pieces in the four-player return from the Giants for Rafael Devers, knows he will be tied to the former Red Sox slugger, at least for a while, in people's minds. But he wants Red Sox fans to know he's -- in his words -- 'stoked' for a fresh start.
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'I'm hungry, I'm ready to go,' Harrison said on Tuesday night. 'I've been waiting for my opportunity and hopefully I'll get a good one here. I'm just excited to learn from the staff. You're going to get a guy who loves to play the game and plays the game hard and a great teammate...I'm just really excited to get going on this new journey.'
Harrison was in the midst of warming up for a start on Sunday night for the Giants when he was summoned into the manager's office.
'At the first moment, I like 'man, why are they bugging me 20 minutes before [first pitch]?' Harrison laughed. '[I thought] maybe they had a little inside trick of where they want me to attack these guys. But it was the complete opposite, and I was getting shipped off.'
Then came the flurry of goodbyes, packing up what he could, and flying across the country, arriving partway through the WooSox' Tuesday night win over Buffalo. He went out to the bullpen to get some throwing in, and made Polar Park's video board as the team welcomed him to Worcester.
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The 23-year-old said he still hasn't quite processed what it means to be dealt in a package for a superstar.
'Obviously a player of that magnitude, I've honestly watched growing up, so it's cool,' Harrison said. 'It just speaks to how much they believe in the package and the return. I'm just excited to go out there and show people what I can do.'
Red Sox Director of Pitching Justin Willard expressed his excitement over the new addition on Tuesday.
'He's going to be a huge piece for the Boston Red Sox for not only now, but hopefully for the next five, six years,' Willard said. 'There's really big potential here. I'm really excited about the kid, and maybe just a fresh start somewhere else will help him and get him going in the right direction.'
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Harrison touts a mid-90's fastball that Willard said will be his 'bread and butter, no matter what else we want to do with him.' Willard described Harrison's fastball as 'unique' and 'elite.'
'[We're] really excited to build the arsenal around that, making that the main event, and then [look at] what are the pitches he needs to be to be supplemental to that,' Harrison added.
Willard suggested Harrison will be in Triple A for a 'couple of weeks' as the Red Sox work with him on his pitch arsenal. Harrison already signaled a lot of willingness to learn and develop.
'I've been in Triple A a decent amount of time in my life now it's not about where I want to be today, but where I want to be 5-10 years from now and where I see myself getting better,' Harrison said. 'I think this is a place where I'm going to get better and develop...I think it's just messing with another pitch, whether it's adding something else or tinkering with a sinker or a gyro slider and I'm just excited for the opportunity and what we're going to be experimenting with here.'
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Willard mentioned that Harrison's character is one of the things that excite the Red Sox about him.
'Honestly, talking to people around him, I'm really excited about the person,' Willard said. 'He sounds like a great kid, willing to work hard, willing willing to bet on himself and make sure he has the resources around himself to maximize who he is. That's first and foremost, starting from that kind of center is really exciting.'
Harrison has a previous relationship with Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey when Bailey was in San Francisco and has worked out with Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet in Arizona over the 2024 offseason.
'I talked with [Bailey] on the way over, and it's always cool to have a familiar face,' Harrison said. 'He's been nothing but great to me, and he's stoked to have me and I'm stoked to have him there, it's going to be awesome.'
The plan for Harrison is for him to throw a bullpen, likely on Wednesday, before slotting in for his first start in Worcester.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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