It’s rare to see two rival teams make a trade, but that exact scenario happened Monday.
The Boston Red Sox acquired Adam Ottavino and pitching prospect Frank German from the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
It’s the first trade the two sides have made with one another since July 2014.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom met with the media Monday and explained what trading with the division rival was like.
“Other than knowing we were making a trade with the Yankees, I wouldn’t say the conversations or the process were any different,” Bloom said over Zoom.
But does Bloom see it as Boston helping New York?
“I just don’t think we can think that way,” he said. “I know it’s the Yankees, and I understand what that means. It’s the most storied rivalry in sports.”
Ottavino certainly helps the Red Sox’s bullpen, which struggled during the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season. Bloom believes the right-hander will be a “critical part of our bullpen” while taking on a normal workload, which Bloom noted would be about 60 appearances.
Pitchers and catchers report in February, with Boston’s Opening Day set for April 1 at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles.
