Former Dodgers Outfielder Alex Verdugo Traded to Yankees in Blockbuster Move
Former Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo has been traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in a rare trade between two of the league’s biggest rivals. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the deal, and the return, which is RHPs Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice.
This is a shocking development late Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings, as two of the league’s biggest rivals have made a deal.
The Yankees acquired a left-handed hitting outfielder, while Boston moved off of Verdugo, the key piece in the Mookie Betts trade in 2020.
Verdugo has been listed as a potential trade candidate all offseason long, and finally, he gets moved in the AL East to the Yankees. This could potentially take the Yankees out of the Juan Soto sweepstakes, as they’ve acquired a lefty outfielder who’s a free agent next offseason.
Verdugo has played in over 140 games in each of the last three seasons, and hit .264 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs last year.
Verdugo hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype he once had with the Dodgers, and the Red Sox now move on from him, further proving the disaster that was the Mookie Betts trade for Boston.
The Yankees will be Verdugo’s third career team, and we’ll see how he fares under the bright lights at Yankee Stadium.
This is an incredible development Tuesday night, and the first big move of the Winter Meetings.
UPDATE: The Yankees are not out on Juan Soto, as they look to make multiple splashes this offseason.
Photo Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
So by Boston trading the main guy the Dodgers gave them in the Mookie Betts trade basically is a admission by Boston that they lost the trade and are now trying to possibly recover from it hoping another trade will get something out of giving Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.