The Yankees and Red Sox exchange Verdugo in a four-player deal.
Nashville, Tennessee In an unusual trade between the long-standing rivals, the Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox on Tuesday night as a result of their pursuit of a left-handed bat.
Verdugo, 27, will be traded for three right-hand pitchers, including Greg Weissert, Nicholas Judice, and Richard Fitts, who is ranked as the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline, to go to the Bronx.
TRADES PRICING INFORMATION
Yankees receive: OF Verdugo, Alex
RHPs Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice are acquired by the Red Sox.
Aaron Boone, manager of the Yankees, expressed his excitement about it. We’ve actually been talking about [Verdugo] for a while now, and we were able to make progress there at last. He was a guy who had committed various offenses against us.
He is an extremely solid two-way player who guards the ball well in the corners and clearly possesses excellent left-handed bat-to-ball skills. I’m thrilled about this since I think he plays the game with an advantage.
The Bombers are still in the running for a possible Juan Soto trade or Cody Bellinger signing despite their acquisition of Verdugo. According to general manager Brian Cashman, he is looking to add two outfield players, ideally left-handed hitters, to complement Aaron Judge.
Verdugo, who has played in Boston for the previous four seasons, just finished his 2023 season with an OPS+ of 100, batting.264/.324/.421 with 37 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, and 54 RBIs in 142 games.
Verdugo has played in 651 games across a seven-year big league career with the Dodgers (2017–19) and Red Sox (2020–23), with a slash line of.281/.337/.428 (105 OPS+) with 57 home runs and 255 RBIs.
in a four-player transaction with the Red Sox
Verdugo joins the Yankees in a four-player deal with the Red Sox on December 6, 2023.
Bryant Hoch
Bryant Hoch
@BryanHoch Post
Nashville, Tennessee In an unusual trade between the long-standing rivals, the Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox on Tuesday night as a result of their pursuit of a left-handed bat.
Verdugo, 27, will be traded for three right-hand pitchers, including Greg Weissert, Nicholas Judice, and Richard Fitts, who is ranked as the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline, to go to the Bronx.
TRADES PRICING INFORMATION
Yankees receive: OF Verdugo, Alex
RHPs Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice are acquired by the Red Sox.
Alex Verdugo is traded by the Yankees
Dec. 6, 2023 · 4:21
Alex Verdugo is traded by the Yankees
It excites me a lot, Yankees manager Aaron
Boone stated that Verdugo will likely continue to play outfield corner positions. Despite Verdugo receiving a suspension this past August from the Red Sox for being tardy for a home game, Boone stated he is comfortable with Verdugo’s character.
“From across the way, we hear those things. That doesn’t really worry me,” Boone remarked. “Getting him on-ramped, welcomed, and involved in the program is the most important thing. We should have a genuinely talented and driven athlete that contributes significantly to our club, in my opinion.
Out of all the pitchers that the Yankees sent to Boston, only Weissert, 28, has made appearances in the Major Leagues, with a 4.60 ERA in 29 games between 2022 and 2023.
Fitts, 23, has a 3.57 and has gone 18–13.
Since 1969, there have only been eight trades between the Yankees and Red Sox during the Divisional Era. Cashman has frequently expressed the opinion that dealings with Boston were essentially prohibited.
The teams had a connection earlier this year when outfielder Greg Allen was traded to the Yankees for monetary considerations and right-hander Diego Hernandez.
