Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Reportedly Send Star Outfielder To Yankees In Blockbuster Trade

Boston just made a major splash

Scott Neville

Red Sox Reportedly Send Star Outfielder To Yankees In Blockbuster Trade
Red Sox Reportedly Send Star Outfielder To Yankees In Blockbuster Trade /
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The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been long-rumored to be trade partners this offseason despite the historic rivalry.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow hinted that a move involving one of their core players could be imminent while at the GM Meetings in November. That deal reportedly is done.

"Source confirms the Red Sox have dealt (Alex) Verdugo to the Yankees for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and more," The Boston Globe's Alex Speier reported Tuesday. 

"Fitts was very good in rotation of Double-A Somerset this year. Weissert has been an up/down reliever the last two years. Sox also got Nicholas Judice, an 8th rounder out of Louisiana Monroe this year."

Verdugo hit .264 with 55 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 54 RBIs and a .745 OPS in 142 games. He also logged one out above average and nine defensive runs saved in the extremely difficult Fenway Park right field. 

Verdugo was on the final year of his contract and the Red Sox had no plans of extending him after multiple feuds with manager Alex Cora. 

He's a perfect fit for the Yankees, who need a left-handed bat to plug into their outfield -- though some have speculated that he could be flipped in a package for San Diego Padres' Juan Soto.

As for Boston, the Red Sox received the Yankees No. 12 prospect in Fitts and some ancillary pieces. The 23-year-old went 11-5 with a 3.48 ERA, 163-to-43 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and 1.14 WHIP in 152 2/3 innings for Double-A Somerset.

Weissert is a depth reliever that could provide some upside for the Red Sox. He posted a 4.05 ERA with a 22-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .273 batting average against and a 1.45 WHIP in 20 innings for the Yankees last season.

Judice, a flyer addition, has yet to appear in a game after bring drafted in June.

Hopefully, this move will culminate into something better for the Red Sox. They just became worse at the big-league level and they made their biggest rival better.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Have 'Checked In' On Premier Free-Agent Reliever

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Scott Neville
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

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