Red Sox Reportedly Discussed Trading Star Outfielder To Yankees For Premier Hurler

Boston almost made a big splash at the deadline

Scott Neville | Sep 14, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Discussed Trading Star Outfielder To Yankees For Premier Hurler /

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The Boston Red Sox faced serious heat the the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline for their lack of activity.

As it turns out, Boston reportedly was quite close to making a notable acquisition, while trading a fan favorite to the New York Yankees in the process.

"The Red Sox discussed sending outfielder Alex Verdugo to the Yankees for starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt at the trade deadline," Beyond The Monster's Chris Henrique reported Thursday.

Verdugo was heavily rumored to be a trade candidate at the previous deadline due to his contract expiring after the 2024 season and the Red Sox not fully ready to commit to him long-term.

The 27-year-old is hitting .276 with 54 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 54 RBIs and a .781 OPS in 128 games. He's also a plus defender in a challenging right field.

In exchange, the Red Sox would have received a 27-year-old righty under team control through 2027. He's posted a 4.54 ERA with a 139-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .264 batting average against and 140 2/3 innings this season.

The Red Sox desperately need pitching but Schmidt appears to be in the same class as Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford. There wasn't a strong need to add another middling hurler.

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Published Sep 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu