Caleb Durbin trade: Red Sox finally get infield help in six-player swap with Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox have agreed to a deal that will see infielder Caleb Durbin land in Boston, the teams announced Monday. Infielder David Hamilton and left-handed pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan go to Milwaukee, while the Red Sox also get infielder Andruw Monasterio, catcher/infielder Anthony Seigler and a Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick.

Red Sox get: INF Caleb Durbin, INF Andruw Monasterio, INF Anthony Seigler, Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick
Brewers get: LHP Kyle Harrison, INF David Hamilton, LHP Shane Drohan

Durbin, 25, finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season for the Brewers when he hit .256/.334/.387 (101 OPS+) with 25 doubles, 11 home runs, 53 RBI, 60 runs, 18 steals and 2.8 WAR. He primarily played third base, though he also saw time at second and shortstop. That gives the Red Sox options in the infield, where talented youngster Marcelo Mayer is also capable of holding down multiple positions.

Harrison is the big piece here headed to Milwaukee. The 24 year old was the Giants’ third-round pick in 2020 and debuted in 2023 to decent fanfare as a consensus top-50 prospect. He’s yet to find great success at the MLB level thus far, pitching to a 4.39 ERA in 194 ⅔ MLB innings across three seasons. He went to the Red Sox last June in the Rafael Devers trade. 

Harrison doesn’t necessarily figure as part of the Brewers’ five-man rotation immediately, as they’ve got Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson, but they always utilize more than five starters in a season and depth is a big deal these days with rotations. 

There’s a ripple effect from the Freddy Peralta trade here. Harrison gives the Brewers back an MLB starting pitcher and Jett Williams — acquired from the Mets in the Peralta trade — now figures heavily in the Brewers’ infield mix with Durbin leaving. Williams can play third or shortstop with Joey Ortiz filling the other left-side infield slot. 

Hamilton becomes bench depth as a backup infielder for the Brewers. In 91 games for the Red Sox last season, he hit .198/.257/.333 with 1.0 WAR. 

Monasterio could end up serving a similar role for the Red Sox. He has experience at the MLB level at all four infield positions. In 68 games last season for the Brewers, he hit .270/.319/.437 (109 OPS+) with 0.8 WAR. 

Seigler completes the deal on the Red Sox side. In 34 games for the Brewers last season, he hit .194/.292/.210 with -0.1 WAR. He’s depth at the Triple-A level, likely, to start the season.

Back on the Brewers side, they also get Drohan. Between Double-A and Triple-A last season, the southpaw was 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 54 innings.