TRADE: Red Sox, Yankees Complete 1st Notable Swap in 10 Years

It's one of the rarest of moves in baseball: bitter rivals New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox completed a notable trade—a four-player swap. The Yankees obtained outfield Alex Verdugo in the deal.

BREAKING: The New York Yankees are acquiring outfielder Alex Verdugo in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for right-handeres Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2023

Minor league right-handed pitchers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice go the Red Sox in return for the 7-year veteran. Fitts was the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Verdugo is coming off a league-average season (OPS+ of 100), with 13 HR and 54 RBIs in 602 plate appearances. The Gold Glove finalist played all 140 of his starts in right field, which he would obviously not be playing in the Bronx, as some guy named Aaron Judge has that spot locked up. But Verdugo has also played 250 games in left field during his career and 118 in center.

In addition, sources say, the acquisition of an outfielder like Verdugo does not change the Yankees' plans to try and trade for Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. 

For Boston, they get a good prospect in Fitts, 23, who has a 3.57 ERA in 49 career Minor League starts over the past two seasons.

There have been some minor trades between the historical rivals over the years, but the last one of note came in 2014, when Stephen Drew (to NYY) and Kelly Johnson (to BOS) were swapped at the deadline.

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