Red Sox Trade Veteran Outfielder To Yankees For Intriguing Young Pitcher

Boston was forced to make a move due to a contractual agreement

Scott Neville | May 20, 2023

Red Sox Trade Veteran Outfielder To Yankees For Intriguing Young Pitcher /

In this story:

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees made a rare cross-rivalry trade to take over the headlines Friday night.

It was not the first time Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman have become trade partners and it likely won't be the last. Neither side is afraid of accidentally helping the other side if they believe the move will aid their own team.

The Red Sox traded veteran outfielder Greg Allen to the Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitcher Diego Hernández and cash considerations, the Yankees announced.

Allen hit .250 with 11 extra-base hits including a pair of home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .795 OPS in 37 games for Triple-A Worcester. The 30-year-old's most impressive stat was his 23 stolen bases in as many attempts.

Allen had an upward mobility clause in his contract, which meant that he had to either be called up to the Red Sox's roster or traded to a team that would put him in the big leagues.

With that in mind, the Red Sox's reported acquisition of outfielder Bradley Zimmer makes much more sense. Zimmer is another veteran with elite speed and defense. Bloom essentially made a lateral move in order to not call up Allen and was able to acquire a young lottery ticket in the process.

Hernández is an 18-year-old pitcher that joined the Yankees organization as an international free agent last January.

The Mexican hurler impressed in his first season of professional baseball, posting a 2.10 ERA with a 48-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .188 batting average against and 1.11 WHIP in 34 1/3 innings across five starts and seven relief appearances in the Dominican Summer League.

Time will tell if Hernández develops into a player of note but given his age and lack of experience, he won't be on Boston's radar for a long time -- even if he is a superstar in the making.

More MLB: Red Sox Add Veteran Outfielder With Elite Speed To Bolster Depth For 2023 Season

Published May 20, 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