Did Yankees Have Underlying Motive For Acquiring Alex Verdugo From Red Sox?

The New York Yankees pulled off the not-so-common trigger in striking a deal with the Boston Red Sox — the first major move for both teams in their respective 2024 offseasons.

New York acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from Boston on Tuesday night in exchange for right-handed pitchers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice, per team announcement. An obvious surprise considering the rivalry implications between both clubs that have existed for long over a century.

There is, however, a conspiracy floating around in the aftermath of the rare Red Sox-Yankees trade which presents a case for New York’s underlying reason for acquiring Verdugo — and it’s not to give Yankees manager Aaron Boone a left-handed bat in the lineup.

The idea is New York landed Verdugo to flip the 27-year-old in a package deal so that the Yankees could trade for Padres star outfielder Juan Soto, according to ex-Major League Baseball general manager Jim Bowden. It’s not a far-fetched theory considering San Diego was arguably the biggest flop — certainly in the National League — after going 82-80 and missing the playoffs.

Bowden also mentioned that Verdugo could potentially be sent to the Padres alongside pitchers Michael King and Drew Thorpe.

Throughout the early stages of the relatively silent offseason, the Yankees have been linked to Soto. Although nothing’s come of the rumors thus far, the fit does make sense for several reasons, further adding support to the Verdugo theory.

Last season, the Yankees were horrendous offensively, recording a .227 batting average that was only better than the Athletics (.223) — a team that put no effort into its final run out of Oakland and to Las Vegas.

That’s jaw-droppingly concerning, not only for New York upholding its long-standing tradition of winning but also since the Yankees committed roughly $280 million to their payroll and missed the postseason. For the better chunk of 2023, New York wasn’t playing competitive baseball, instead testing out new lows as a laughingstock offense that couldn’t produce.

Even after welcoming ex-big leaguer Sean Casey aboard as New York’s hitting coach in July, the Yankees went 27-28 for the final two months of play and finished second-to-last in the American League East.

Verdugo, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025, isn’t a blockbuster acquisition for the Yankees, but that doesn’t mean the left-hander can’t be a contributor in landing New York its next star.