It’s been a year to forget for both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Entering the final stretch of the season, both teams sit at 73-72, 18 games out of first place in the AL East, with their seasons effectively over.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for both teams, as it’s become very uncharacteristic for them to both miss the playoffs in the same year.
Historically, the rival teams have been hesitant to trade with each other, but that reportedly almost happened before the trade deadline, when the Yankees and Red Sox discussed trading starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt for outfielder Alex Verdugo, according to Beyond the Monster‘s Chris Henrique.
The Red Sox discussed sending outfielder Alex Verdugo to the Yankees for starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt at the trade deadline, per sources.
— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) September 14, 2023
Schmidt is a former top pitching prospect for the Yankees who has put together a solid season in his first full year in the big leagues. He’s 9-8 with a 4.54 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 140 innings. Obviously, the ERA is a bit high, but the 27-year-old starter could have fit nicely in the Red Sox rotation.
Verdugo was one of Boston’s big returns in the Mookie Betts trade in 2019. He’s hit .284 with 57 home runs in his four years in Boston. The Yankees have a lot of outfielders set to come up through the minors in the next couple of years, but he could have been a nice depth piece for New York.
While this trade didn’t pan out, the Yankees and Red Sox made one of the most famous trades in sports history when Boston sent Babe Ruth to New York in 1919. The Yankees became tremendously successful following the trade, while Boston would not win another World Series until 2004 due to “The Curse of the Bambino.”
