That Mookie Betts trade to the Dodgers continues to haunt the Red Sox as tonight they gave up the one decent part of that deal-outfielder Alex Verdugo-to the Yankees (of all teams!) for three right-handed pitchers that nobody outside of true baseball nerds has ever heard of before now. After four up and down seasons with Boston, Verdugo was moved no doubt because manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox front office were sick of all his unnecessary drama. He was benched not once but twice last season and for a guy that is 27 years old and has been in MLB for seven seasons but never reached a single All-Star Game, you have to cut your losses at some point. Granted, this is only the eighth ever trade between Boston and New York in the Divisional Era (since 1969) so that tells you that the Sox do not think much of Verdugo at this point.
As always with prospects, I won't sit here and pretend like I know anything about Richard Fitts (NY's #12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline), Greg Weissert or Nicholas Judice. Weissert is 28 and the only one of the three to appear in an MLB game so far: he had a 4.60 ERA over 29 appearances for the Yankees between 2022 and 2023. Fitts who is 23 years old went 18-13 with a 3.57 ERA in 49 career minor league starts over the past two seasons. Judice is only 22 and he was just drafted this past season in the eighth round of the MLB Draft so needless to say, he has not made his MLB debut yet. The way I look at it, these guys are all scratch tickets meaning that there is no way that the Red Sox will hit on all three of them. If they are lucky, two turn out to be serviceable major league arms or one will be really good.
Verdugo had the makings of a guy that could have been a star here (well at least when people still cared about baseball and the Red Sox) but he never made that next step beyond just a good player. He is a decent hitter (.264/.324/.745 last season) but he does not possess much power (13 HRs and 54 RBIs in 140 games). He is a good defender-a Gold Glove finalist in left field in 2023-that is versatile enough to play all three outfield positions well. Finally, he has a fiery personality and unique style-two distinct elements which are quite lacking in most MLB players these days.
Will Verdugo finally grow up and take the next step in his career with the no fun allowed Yankees? Probably not but it would be so Red Sox for them to bungle this trade with him becoming a better and more consistent player while these three pitchers are never heard from again. The scary part is that Verdugo was one of Boston's top MLB players and the last thing they need is more of a talent drain. Hopefully this is just the start (but I doubt it) for the Red Sox when it comes to making some real moves this winter. Like the Patriots, they have so many issues to address before they can even be considered any type of contender next season and beyond. Good luck, Craig Breslow!
