NASHVILLE.- Los New York Yankees They made an unusual exchange with the Boston Red Soxtheir bitter division rivals, and acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo on Tuesday in exchange for the rights Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts y Nicholas Judge.
The 27-year-old slugger hit .264 with 13 homers, 54 RBIs and a .745 OPS in 2023, his fourth season with Red Sox. Finalist for Gold Glove, had 12 outfield assists and nine runs saved. He was part of the selection of Mexico who reached the semifinals of the World Classic in March.
A seven-year major league veteran, Verdugo has a career batting average of .281, with 57 home runs, 255 RBIs with the Dodgers y Red Sox.
Verdugo was selected in the second round of the 2014 amateur draft and Boston acquired him from Los Angeles along with the infielder Jeter Downs and the catcher/second base Connor Wong in February 2020 in exchange for the slugger Mookie Betts and the pitcher David Price.
Verdugo is eligible for salary arbitration and will likely earn a salary of $9 million. He could become a free agent at the end of the next World Series.
If the Yankees They do not acquire another player like the Dominican Juan Soto from San Diego, Verdugo will surely see time in left field.
Short history in MLB:
It was the eighth exchange between Red Sox y Yankees since MLB split into divisions in 1969. In May, New York acquired outfielder Greg Allen from Boston in exchange for Mexican law Diego Hernandez.
The most famous transaction was the purchase of Babe Ruth on the part of the Yankees in 1919. Also when New York got pitcher Sparky Lyle in 1972 by the first baseman Danny Carter and the Dominican infielder Mario Guerreroand when Boston acquired Elston Howard — the first black player in the Yankees y Most valuable Player from American League in 1964 — by the pitchers Ron Klimkowski y Pete Magrini in 1967.
Source: AP
