It’s a rarity when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees conduct a trade. The result brings up the two teams and their historic rivalry, which ultimately turns emotional, especially for a player involved in the trade.
On Dec. 5, New York acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from Boston. While strategically this helps the Yankees, his instant reaction was a negative one.
“The genuine reaction was mad. I was hot. I was just like, ‘Man, they really sent me to the rivals? The Yankees?’” Verdugo told reporters on Thursday, including MLB.com.
Those feelings didn’t last long, however.
“Then, after about a day, I just started sitting back, started thinking, reminiscing about how this year went with the Red Sox, everything that was going on, then I started having guys reach out — [Aaron] Judge, [Giancarlo] Stanton, Gerrit [Cole], [Anthony] Rizzo — just these guys started all reaching out and welcoming me to the team. It got me excited, man.”
The term “fresh start” appeared to be the theme for Verdugo, who finished his 2023 campaign with a .264/.324/.421 line tallying 54 RBI, 13 home runs and 144 hits in 142 games.
Speaking of fresh start … Verdugo shaved his facial hair off immediately after he found out the news. As is the Yankee tradition.
“I shaved right away just so I could feel like I’m in it,” Verdugo said. “I work out every day in the Yankees hat; I’ve got it right here, just to see how it looks on me and how it feels. A fresh start feels good.”
He appears ready.
[MLB.com]
