Yankees acquire veteran OF in rare trade with bitter rival

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees don’t often do business, but they came together to make a deal on Tuesday.

The Red Sox are sending outfielder Alex Verdugo to their biggest rival. Boston is receiving three pitching prospects in return for Verdugo.

The Yankees are sending the Red Sox right-handed pitchers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice in return for Verdugo, per a team announcement.

Verdugo was the main piece the Red Sox received when they sent Mookie Betts to the Dodgers prior to the 2020 season. The 27-year-old outfielder has been steady with Boston. He batted .264 with a .324 on-base percentage and .421 slugging percentage last season. He is a career .281 hitter with a .765 OPS.

Verdugo played right field for the Red Sox last season, but he also played left field and occasionally center field over his four seasons in Boston.

Verdugo is entering his final season of arbitration and set to earn around $9 million in 2024. He will be a free agent after the season.

Fitts was a sixth-round pick by the Yankees out of Auburn in 2021. The 6-foot-3 pitcher posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 163 strikeouts in 152.2 innings over 27 starts at Double-A in 2023.

Weissert was a 16th-round pick out of Fordham in 2016. He spent several seasons in the minors but finally made his MLB debut in 2022. He also pitched 20 innings for the Yankees in 2023. The 28-year-old reliever has a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 career MLB innings.

Judice is a 6-foot-8 pitcher out of Louisiana-Monroe. He was drafted by the Yankees in the eighth round this year.