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By Chris Kirschner, Jen McCaffrey and Brendan Kuty
The New York Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitching prospects Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice, the teams announced Tuesday.
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Verdugo hit .264/.324/.421 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs in 142 games last season for Boston. The 27-year-old is set to make around $9 million in his final season of arbitration. He has played seven seasons in the majors, the first three with the Dodgers before being traded in the deal that sent Mookie Betts to Los Angeles.
The trade is only the seventh between the Yankees and and Red Sox since 1972. The teams last made a deal in May. Outfielder Greg Allen went to New York in return for minor-league pitcher Diego Hernández and cash considerations.
Why Red Sox made the move
There weren’t many certainties for the Red Sox entering this week in Nashville, but the writing had been on the wall for months regarding a Verdugo trade. The outfielder, who’s entering his final year before free agency, had a strong year defensively as an American League Gold Glove finalist in right field, but a down year at the plate, posting a league-average 100 OPS+. Meanwhile, he had two very public benchings from manager Alex Cora, one early in the season for failing to hustle out of the box, and another late in the year when he arrived at the ballpark late.
With a lineup that’s already heavily left-handed, Verdugo, another lefty, became a prime trade piece as the Red Sox sought to upgrade the team. The trade means that catcher Connor Wong is now the lone player left from the Mookie Betts trade to the Dodgers in 2020 that brought in Verdugo and infielder Jeter Downs, who was released last year.
In trading Verdugo for two minor-league pitchers in addition to Weissert, who’s shuttled between Triple A and the majors the last two seasons, the Red Sox continued to bolster their farm system. The system has improved in recent years but has been top-heavy with position players, so adding two young pitchers — including the Yankees’ No. 19 prospect in Double A in the starter Fitts, who was named Double-A Eastern League Pitcher of the Year last year — bolstered the group on that front. — Jen McCaffrey, Red Sox staff writer
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What it means for Yankees
The Yankees needed to add two outfielders this offseason, preferably left-handed, according to general manager Brian Cashman. Verdugo checks both boxes.
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It’s an interesting trade, though, for the Yankees in that Verdugo has basically been a league-average hitter for three straight seasons now and exclusively played right field for the Red Sox this year. Verdugo will likely not play right field for the Yankees because that’s Aaron Judge’s spot. That leaves center field and left field as Verdugo’s options.
Verdugo played most of his games in left field for Boston in 2022 and hasn’t played center field since 2021. In theory, Judge could play center field, but the team was hesitant to play him there this season, even before his toe injury.
But if the Yankees acquire Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, Verdugo may find himself in right field. Soto is a very poor defender and Verdugo graded out poorly in center field when he played there. They may need Judge to man the middle of the outfield if a Soto deal comes to fruition. — Chris Kirschner, Yankees staff writer
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Verdugo has some history in New York
Verdugo has had an interesting history with Yankees fans. In 2021, a fan in the stands hit him in the head with a baseball while he was playing left field. The fan was banned from all MLB ballparks for life. In 2022, Verdugo crushed a homer at Yankee Stadium and then pointed to the fans in left field who were heckling him.
“They should just know it’s hard to get in my skin. It’s hard to get in my head,” Verdugo said at the time. “The guys, they rag me enough on the team. So whatever they say, it’s not a big deal. They bring up family, they bring up everybody. And you’ve just got to chuckle and laugh and just use it as fuel to make a play or get something going.” — Brendan Kuty, Yankees staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Kevin Sousa / USA Today)
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