SAN FRANCISCO – Mike Yastrzemski knew precisely tips on how to console an emotional Kyle Harrison after the Giants’ homegrown hurler “took it kind of tough” when dealt to the Boston Crimson Sox in Sunday’s commerce for slugger Rafael Devers.
Sure, Yastrzemski’s roots run deep in Boston – his grandfather, Carl, threw out this season’s ceremonial first pitch for the Crimson Sox – however a commerce can be what introduced the youthful Yastrzemski to the Giants in 2019.
“When you leave your first organization, you don’t know what to expect, especially when you grew up right here and this is the organization you grew up idolizing. It’s not easy to leave,” Yastrzemski mentioned earlier than Wednesday’s sport in opposition to Cleveland. “I attempted to let him know the way good of a chance it may be for him and the way a lot he’s going to like it.
“Those fans are incredible and they’re going to be really fun for him to pitch in front of,” Yastrzemski added. “I just told him if he ever needs anything up that way, I’ve got friends and family, and he’ll never be feeling like he’s by himself out there.”
Harrison, 23, is a San Jose native who made his big-league debut with the Giants in 2023, three years after they drafted him out of De La Salle Excessive-Harmony. He went 7-7 as a starter final season, and after beginning this season at Triple-A Sacramento, he returned as a Giants’ reliever then turned an injury-replacement starter. He was warming up for his fifth begin when he abruptly obtained pulled in Los Angeles and knowledgeable of his commerce.
“Just crazy. They’re like, ‘can you go talk to the manager real quick?’,” Harrison informed the Boston Herald. “The first moment, I was like, ‘Man, why are they bugging me 20 minutes before?’ I’m like, maybe they got a little inside trick for where they want me to attack these guys, but no it’s the complete opposite and I was getting shipped off.”
“Next thing you know, I’m here,” added Harrison, who’s with the Crimson Sox’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. “Excited to be here, and I was stoked about the opportunity.”
Giants supervisor Bob Melvin mentioned Wednesday he has “no doubt” Harrison goes to be good and that’s why the Crimson Sox insisted that “Harrison had to be part of that deal.” As for the Giants’ pitching depth, Melvin mentioned Carson Whisenhunt and Carson Seymour are prime candidates to come back up from Triple-A, when wanted.
“To get (Devers), you’ve got to give something up,” Melvin famous.
Regardless of a delayed cross-country flight Tuesday and unhealthy site visitors en path to Worcester, Harrison suited as much as watch his new crew and mentioned he’s “hungry” to develop his “pitching arsenal” past a four-seam fastball.
Whereas the Crimson Sox arrive Friday evening at Oracle Park for a three-game sequence, Harrison isn’t publicly complaining about his Triple-A return: “Honestly, not really. I know it may sound weird, but it’s baseball. I’ve been in Triple-A a decent amount of time in my life now, and it’s not about where I want to be today, it’s about where I want to be five, 10 years from now and where I see myself getting better, and I think this is a place that I’m gonna get better and develop.”
Nonetheless, there may be higher geography at play right here. “I’m a West Coast kid so this is all new to me, East Coast,” Harrison added to the Herald.
DEVERS ‘NOT OUR HOLY SAVIOR’
Whereas Yastrzemski categorized Devers as an influence participant who’ll “significantly” improve the Giants’ lineup, he cautioned in opposition to placing an excessive amount of strain on his arrival.
“One of the important things about the trade, this guy is not our holy savior. Right? We’re not putting that pressure on him. We played a really, really good brand of baseball to this point and he wasn’t in the lineup. So I don’t want to ever put that on him in terms of pressure, in terms of stress, in terms of also the rest of the lineup thinking they can just rely on one guy to get the job done. It’s still a team sport.”
As a left-handed hitter with seven profession “Splash Hits” into McCovey Cove, Yastrzemski carries some clout and sufficient understanding of Oracle Park to assist Devers’ orientation. “He asked me what the best place is to hit the ball in terms of the ballpark,” Yastrzemski mentioned. “I said, ‘For me, it’s right down the right-field line, or to left field during day games. For you, wherever you want.’ In Fenway, you have the triangle in right-center, too, so it’s not any different for him to visualize.”
Yastrzemski, by the way in which, predicted that Devers will rack up 12 to 16 Splash Hits over the remaining eight years of his $313.5 million contract.
HOME-FIELD GREETING
Regardless of shedding 3-2 Tuesday evening, Melvin embraced the “electric” environment by which the gang of 36,222 gave Devers a standing ovation every at-bat in a 2-for-5 debut that included an RBI double within the third and a ninth-inning single.
The Giants have been denied a “perfect night” once they did not execute a ninth-inning comeback however Melvin counseled how “the fans made (Devers) feel comfortable and that goes a long way.”
NOTES
Whereas Wednesday evening’s battery of Justin Verlander and Patrick Bailey got here off the injured record, the Giants optioned pitcher Tristan Beck and catcher Logan Porter to Triple-A Sacramento. … Jerar Encarnacion, sidelined the season’s first two months because of a fractured hand, strained his left indirect in batting apply Monday. That resulted in Tuesday’s transfer to the 10-day Injured Listing.
Initially Printed: June 18, 2025 at 5:52 PM PDT
