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Early in the evening on June 15, James Tibbs III spoke to his parents. They were home in Georgia, and they wondered if he’d heard the big news.

“They said ‘Did you see that Devers got traded to the Giants?’ Yeah, about that. That’s me,” Tibbs said Tuesday afternoon as his Portland Sea Dogs prepared to play the Hartford Yard Goats and Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field.

Tibbs, 22, was chosen by the San Francisco Giants with the 13th overall pick last July. His professional baseball career has barely begun, but he’s already noteworthy as one of the pieces in the most controversial trade made by the Boston Red Sox in recent memory. In exchange for All-Star Rafael Devers, the Giants sent Tibbs and three pitchers — Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks and Jose Bello — to Boston.

Tibbs acknowledged that, yeah, some pressure comes with being traded for one of the best hitters in the game. Throw on top of that getting traded so early in his career as he adjusts to the grind of pro ball. Throw on top of that an abrupt cross country move. Now throw on top of that a promotion to Double-A, where the pitchers are so much better than the ones he was used to facing in High-A. That’s a Jenga tower ready to collapse if you so much as cough near it.

“I felt like I was just getting settled and adjusted and understanding what was expected of me. I was feeling like I was playing some really good ball at the moment, so I was excited about that,” Tibbs said. “Obviously, there’s quote unquote pressure that goes along with that, but for me, it’s just baseball, man. I’ve been playing baseball since I was 5 years old. I’m just playing on a bigger stage now.”

Tibbs hopes Red Sox fans don’t just see him as the “Guy Who The Sox Got For Devers.”

“I hope people know I’m a person more than just a baseball player. People are going to have a lot of opinions, and that’s fine. I’ve been a baseball fan. I know what trades look like. I’ve been on the sour end of a trade before as a fan,” Tibbs said. “I get it. I get there’s a lot of frustration about that, but I also hope I can change some opinions moving forward with the way I play. Hopefully people get to know me as a person and they can begin to root for me and don’t think I’m a bag of baseballs.”

In 16 games with the Sea Dogs, Tibbs is hitting .286, with an on-base percentage of .378. Entering Tuesday, he had 18 hits with Portland, but just four for extra bases. Since the trade and the promotion to Double-A that came with it, he’s felt uncomfortable at the plate.

“I’m hitting well. I’m not hitting the ball hard, and those are two different things. As a guy who’s looking to do damage, I’m trying to hit the ball hard,” Tibbs said. “Pitchers are better. They know how to hit spots. They know how to create stories within at-bats to get you off your game.”

Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson has seen it happen to a lot of players. The trade and everything that comes with it was extra background noise.

“He was fighting being aggressive but not overly aggressive, and he found himself being passive at times. Pitches he would normally hit hard would go by. Again, the adjustment from A ball, you’re not always seeing that pitch two pitches in an at-bat,” Epperson said.

Epperson gave Tibbs a day off Saturday. Reset, unplug, and just sit. In his second at-bat Sunday against New Hampshire’s Trey Yesavage, Tibbs hit his first home run with the Sea Dogs, a shot to center field. The weight he’d carried since the trade landed beyond the outfield wall.

“Breath of fresh air, for sure,” Tibbs said. “I’d faced Yesavage probably four times already this year because he was in High-A with Vancouver in the Northwest League. I kind of had an idea how he would pitch me… I saw a fastball down and kind of knew he was going to throw a splitter off of that. Sure enough, splitter came, and he just left it up a little bit. I was able to put a good swing on it, and thankfully it went over the fence and I could breathe a little bit.”

The Red Sox already have a crowded outfield in Boston, and Jhostynxon Garcia is playing well in Triple-A Worcester, so Tibbs has seen some time at first base for Sea Dogs in addition to right field.

“Early on in college, he was over (at first), but it’s not easy just to pick it up three years later. He’s been putting in the work with Coach Kyle (Sasala). His ability to juggle everything else that’s going on and the work to be in the outfield and infield work tells you a lot about him, too,” Epperson said.

One of Tibbs’ best friends on the Eugene Emeralds was Quinn McDaniel, a graduate of Marshwood High who was drafted by the Giants after a standout career at UMaine. McDaniel gave Tibbs a crash course about Maine life before he made the three-flight trip to Portland.

“He just told me it’s a great spot, a great system, and he was excited for me for sure. It was nice to have a little insight heading into it,” Tibbs said.

Portland is a great spot. When you’ve been thrown into a tight one, being one of the guys traded for a franchise cornerstone, being in a great spot can help as you figure things out.