BOSTON — Here’s some blunt, unsolicited advice for the Red Sox: Don’t trade with the Yankees, guys. If you send Babe Ruth to the Bronx for $100,000 and start a history of trades that hand a hated rival the greatest dynasty of all time for a pittance, you’re never going to balance the books anyway. So why even try?
The latest significant (but not so significant!) move between the greatest sports rivalries in history signaled another total win for New York today, as Alex Verdugo lived up to and exceeded expectations in pinstripes, dealing a major blow to his former team in his first game at Fenway Park.
Verdugo hit the first pitch he saw as a Yankee into the center field stands, then drove in a run with a double off the Green Monster in left field and added another with a single. His three hits and four RBIs were a homecoming for the Yankees, leading the franchise to their 50th win and helping the Red Sox drop to .500.
The kid with the flashy diamond chains and original quotes always had a flair for the dramatic, even if it never quite matched Mookie Betts, the homegrown superstar the Red Sox foolishly sent to Los Angeles to acquire him (and a few others).
Sending Verdugo to the Yankees probably isn’t the worst trade the Red Sox made with him, since the first one was the worst ever and will never be forgiven in this sports-crazed city. It also isn’t the best deal the Yankees made at the Winter Meetings, since at the same event in Nashville in December, the Yankees acquired his fellow superstar outfielder Juan Soto.
Verdugo, who was projected for one year as a solid left-handed hitter and great defender to fill the Yankees’ longtime left field void, has proven to be an All-Star caliber player, and while he is unlikely to receive an invite to Arlington, Texas, as he will be sharing an outfield with two MVP candidates in Aaron Judge and Soto, he will likely bat fourth in the league’s best lineup once promoted.
He hit well (.757 OPS), excelled defensively and proved to be the team’s most valued player — and he’s done it with aplomb while trying to stave off rumors of a falling out with Red Sox manager Alex Cora that led to the auspicious trade.
“Me and him get along well. We get along well,” Verdugo said of Cora before the Yankees’ 8-1 victory. “Our families get along well, our kids get along well. Off the field, we have no issues. We’ve had some clashes, but that’s OK. We’re not all going to agree all the time, but I really have nothing but respect for AC.”
He spoke at length and then concluded by saying, “That’s all I have to say about AC.”
transaction.
When it came to signing a baseball contract with New York, after a few days of wavering, he realized he was going to a “great organization,” shaved off one of the wild strands of facial hair he had been growing, and settled in. He soon took on a baby-faced appearance that soon revealed a murderous desire.
Verdugo, who made triumphant gestures as he circled the bases after hitting a home run off Brian Bello in the first inning, came with the highest recommendation. No one has liked his play the past few years other than Judge, as has Aaron Boone, who seems to nudge GM Brian Cashman every chance he gets.
“We felt like he brought something that we were lacking that we could definitely use, so we were excited to get him,” Boone said. “But I think he exceeded our expectations.”
Cashman made waves at the GM meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., when he gave a fairly aggressive (and somewhat vulgar) defense of himself and his staff following what he described as a “disaster” for the 2023 season, and then a month later he had arguably the best week of his long and storied career (which, incidentally, is in the books).
Naturally, the rivals don’t often trade together, and while the trade that sent Verdugo for a relief pitcher and (at best) a couple of mid-level minor leaguers was intriguing, it was quickly overshadowed by the move for the unparalleled Soto.
I guess this was by far the best the Red Sox could do for a player who had an average season in 2023, is a free agent after 2024, and has a bit of a bad reputation (deservedly or not) for being late. The rivalry isn’t what it used to be, but I guess the Red Sox still like to make trades with other teams.
Let’s also assume that the new Red Sox regime knows what to do. They’re not going to try to win the AL East this time, but they’ve made good on their pitching and young player acquisitions and probably made the right decision to show restraint this time around in free agency. They don’t usually play for the biggest players, and the closest they came was the now-famous Zoom call with Jordan Montgomery, who had a miserable season in the desert with the Diamondbacks.
Indeed, the brains behind Boston’s new baseball team had a great winter, with one notable exception.
