MLB Notebook: Rafael Devers homers off former teammate Brayan Bello, Jordan Hicks making start with WooSox, Richard Fitts joining Red Sox on the West Coast, and a look around the league

When Major League Baseball released its 2025 schedule, the Red Sox and Giants series in San Francisco looked like the perfect weekend getaway for fans. No one could have predicted that just five days before the series began, the Red Sox would have traded their best player, Rafael Devers, to the Giants and added an even higher level of intrigue to the three-game series.

Devers told the media on Friday that he wasn’t going “to talk about the past.” The former Red Sox slugger acknowledged that the last week had been hectic, but he’s been getting acclimated to his new team.

“It’s been a long time (since I was this happy professionally),” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but the feelings that I have here...Yes, I’ve been happy. I feel very relaxed.”

Even though Devers said he wasn’t going to talk about the past, he did reflect quickly on his time in Boston.

“I feel like I put up good numbers over there. I always gave my 100 percent.”

In his first week with San Francisco, Devers hadn’t hit a home run for his team. Of course, his first blast would come in the third inning off Brayan Bello on Saturday afternoon.

After being held hitless on Friday night, Devers grounded out to first in the first inning on Saturday but made the Red Sox pay in his second at-bat. Giants catcher Andrew Knizner reached base thanks to an error by David Hamilton, and the former Sox’ slugger belted a four-seam fastball from Bello into the seats in left for a two-run home run.

“I feel really happy,” Devers said in Spanish to reporters postgame. “The most important thing is that I was able to contribute to the win. I’m going to give my 100 percent and keep trying to help the team win.”

It was his first homer since Sunday, when he homered off Yankees starter Max Fried, his final home run as a member of the Red Sox. In the first of many hits Devers will have as a member of the Giants, he sent the ball 370 feet with an exit velocity of 105.5 mph.

Devers said homering off of Bello was “nothing special,” but he needed to set aside his emotions while facing his former teammate.

“He’s my brother, but we know that once we cross the lines on the field, it’s a different story,” Devers said. “We’re just competing, and whoever wins, wins.”

“A very good friend,” Bello said of Devers to reporters after his outing. “He was always there for me when I went through struggles. And he was always there with advice and is a very good friend.

“I felt good. I attacked him; he hit a home run, but I was able to get him out twice. He's a very good hitter.”

Devers is now 4-for-20 with a double, home run, and three RBI in his first five games as a member of the Giants.

The Red Sox and Giants will play their series finale on Sunday, closing the door on the nonstop Devers’ chatter over the last week. Boston can move on and focus on their young core of players, while Devers can settle into the Giants lineup and take aim at hitting big home runs into McCovey Cove, located behind the right field seats at Oracle Park.

RICHARD FITTS ON TAXI SQUAD

Red Sox right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts is on his way to meet the club in San Francisco on Sunday and be placed on the taxi squad.

Fitts, who has been with Worcester, is with the team on an “if needed” basis, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Boston is having Fitts head to the West Coast as insurance because another pitcher on the roster could be a candidate to land on the injured list.

The 25-year-old has made five starts for the Red Sox this season and has recorded a 4.71 ERA (21 innings). He made the Opening Day roster and pitched well (3.18 ERA) over three starts before suffering a pectoral injury during a start against the White Sox. 

In his first start back from the injured list, he pitched on the road in Milwaukee, where he completed three innings and threw 44 pitches instead of finishing a rehab outing. He was tagged for six runs, five earned, in his next start at home against the Angels.

He surrendered all six runs in the first inning.

The Red Sox optioned Fitts back to the WooSox to build up more before rejoining Boston. He’s allowed seven runs on 15 hits in 12 innings. Fitts pitched five shutout innings against the Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday but will not start on Sunday.

JORDAN HICKS BEGINS REHAB

New Red Sox reliever Jordan Hicks will start for the WooSox on Sunday afternoon at Polar Park.

The start will be his first rehab outing for Boston since he was acquired in the five-player swap with the Giants on Father’s Day and has been on the injured list with right toe inflammation. Hicks threw off the mound in Worcester this week, and if all goes well, he could join Boston soon.

“There’s a good chance Jordan will join us when we get back home,” said Alex Cora this week while in San Francisco.

Once the righty is activated, he’ll be part of the Red Sox bullpen, where he’s had success in the past, especially for the Cardinals.

“In the beginning, (some low leverage spots), just to get his feet wet,” said Cora. “But we know what he can do. He’s done it before. So I expect him to be with (Greg Weissert and Garrett Whitlock) and being a big part of this.”

When the Giants signed Hicks to a four-year, $44 million deal prior to the 2024 season, they transitioned the hard-throwing righty into the starting rotation. The Giants moved him back to the bullpen after he struggled as a starter. This season, he posted a 6.55 ERA in the Giants rotation before landing on the IL.

If the Red Sox can get Hicks back on track, he will be an important piece of the bullpen and eventually could set up closer Aroldis Chapman.

Cora thinks that Hicks will only need a handful of rehab outings before being activated by the Red Sox.

“I mean, obviously the role is different,” said Cora. “We don't have to build him up, but we have to respect the injury, and obviously the arm—that's the most important thing. So we'll see how he feels, and we're not putting pressure on him. Hey, ‘You've got to be here on Friday.’ Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready.”

Kutter Crawford suffered another setback with his right wrist.

“He started playing catch, and he didn’t feel great about it,” said Cora, “so we’re going to shut him down.”

"We’re going to fly him up to Boston to see where we’re at. With the wrist, he wasn’t able to generate velocity, so that’s a concern and a concern for him, too. If he’s trying to do something, then the shoulder comes into play.

“He’ll be in Boston in the upcoming days, and we’ll know more next week.”

Crawford has been out all year dealing with a knee issue he suffered while trying to cover first base last season. His knee is getting better, but his wrist pain is now a primary concern for the Red Sox.

WHEN WILL KYLE HARRISON DEBUT FOR WORCESTER?

Kyle Harrison threw for the WooSox on Saturday; the 23-year-old tossed roughly 50 pitches to a trio of teammates in a live batting practice session at Polar Park.

Harrison hasn’t appeared in a game for the WooSox since he was acquired last Sunday. He tried out a few new pitches, including a slider and sinker, with Craig Breslow watching close by.

“Definitely a cool learning experience, and (I was) able to try a couple new pitches today and just felt good to get out there and get back in the swing of things,” said Harrison to reporters at Polar Park on Saturday. “And my body was feeling great. So excited for the next step.” 

Harrison will make his first start for Worcester next Thursday when the WooSox go on the road to face Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

“He has a really exciting arm, some really unique release qualities, and a unique fastball,” said Red Sox director of pitching development Justin Willard. “That's going to be his bread and butter, no matter what else we want to do to him; if that fastball is real, it's elite. Velo, he’s left-handed, all really, really positive things. So, we’re really excited to build his arsenal around that, making that the main event, and then what are the pitches he needs to be supplemental to that fastball.”

The Red Sox intend to develop Harrison as a starter and expect him to be a big part of the organization for years to come.

“He’s going to be a huge piece for the Boston Red Sox for not only now but for the next five or six years," added Willard. “There’s really big potential here, and I’m really excited about the kid, and maybe a fresh start somewhere else will help him and get him going in the right direction.

“He got optioned down; he’ll be down here for a couple of weeks, and after we talk about some developmental stuff, we'll see kind of what he thinks the best path forward to implementing some of that stuff will be,” continued Willard.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Atlanta Braves are placing former Red Sox ace Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list.

The 2024 National League Cy Young winner suffered the injury when he dived for a ball hit to the right side of the mound by Mets outfielder Juan Soto on Wednesday night. Sale was able to make the play but was removed from the game before making the next out in the ninth inning. He went 8 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

This is the first time that Sale has landed on the IL with the Braves since he was acquired back in Dec. 2023 for infielder Vaughn Grissom.

Sale, who has spent most of the last four years on the IL, is no stranger to it. Multiple injuries and Tommy John surgery derailed the left-hander in Boston.

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh continues to mash at the plate, hitting his 30th homer of the season during the ninth inning of the club’s 10-7 loss to the Cubs.

Raleigh passed Mickey Mantle, José Ramírez, and Lance Berkman for the most home runs by a switch-hitter before the All-Star break. He also passed fellow catcher Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a primary catcher up to this point. The slugger also joined Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr. as the only Seattle players to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break, the team announced. Griffey achieved that feat three times, hitting 35 homers in 1998, 33 in 1994, and 30 in 1997.

“Any time you're mentioned even in the same sentence as one of the best—if not the best—to ever do it is obviously a special, special thing,” Raleigh said on Friday. “So I’m just very grateful.”

Before the Red Sox traded Devers to the Giants, the club reportedly spoke with the Braves, Cubs, Padres, Mariners, and Blue Jays, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

The Giants and Major League Baseball are looking into allegations of abuse made by the wife of reliever Sean Hjelle.

Caroline Hjelle made a post on TikTok Friday of her with the couple’s two children that said, "When my MLB husband abandons us on Mothers Day a week after this [video was taken] once I finally found about his affairs and stopped putting up with his abuse, so I've been raising two boys alone."

Hjelle told reporters following the Giants win on Saturday that he had no comments on the allegations, adding that he and his wife are in the process of finalizing their divorce.

"I feel confident in saying that I will have one (a statement) eventually," he said. "I don't have an exact timeline on that. But I would like to actually meet with the people that are handling the situation with me and for me before I actually make an official statement."

The Giants said in a statement Saturday that they are "aware of these serious allegations" and that MLB is handling it.

Padres reliever Robert Suarez received a three-game suspension from Major League Baseball for intentionally hitting Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani during the Padres’ 5-3 win on June 19.

Suarez’s pitch hit Ohtani in the bottom of the ninth inning during Thursday's game at Dodger Stadium. Suarez, who was ejected from the game, also received an undisclosed fine as part of his punishment.

Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also received one-game suspensions for unsportsmanlike conduct and “inciting the benches-clearing incident,” the league announced.

Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski took a perfect game into the seventh inning on Friday night. A walk allowed the Twins to finally reach base, and a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave them the lead.

Misiorowski allowed in his MLB career after 11 innings of no-hit ball.

Per MLB's Sarah Langs, citing the Elias Sports Bureau, Misiorowski's 11-inning run of no-hit ball is the second-longest by a rookie to begin a career since the expansion era began in 1961. Only Austin Cox, who began his career with 11⅔ innings of no-hit ball, went longer without yielding a hit than Misiorowski, though Cox's hitless run to start his career was spread over six relief appearances in 2023.