What Red Sox Should Expect Out Of Three Pitchers Acquired From Yankees

The Boston Red Sox clearly are making pitching a priority to start this offseason.

Craig Breslow made his first big move Tuesday night as the chief baseball officer of the Red Sox by trading Alex Verdugo to the archrival New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitchers Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice.

None of those three are household names and have pitched a grand total of 31 1/3 innings in the major leagues — all coming from Weissert.

Breslow and the Red Sox are banking on upside and potential here as they look to stock up on arms. Weissert, who will turn 29 in February, made 17 appearances for the Yankees last season and posted a pedestrian 4.05 ERA. He did fan 22 batters in 20 innings but also gave up 21 hits.

Weissert has shown he can be effective at the big league level, especially since he has a wipe out slider that can make opposing hitters look foolish. If Breslow and new pitching coach Andrew Bailey can help him harness it, the Red Sox could have a solid option to go to in the bullpen.

Fitts is the biggest prize the Red Sox got back from the Yankees. The soon-to-be 24-year-old went 11-5 with with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.140 WHIP in 27 starts with Double-A Somerset en route to being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year this past season. He also struck out 163 batters in 152 2/3 innings as he features a fastball that can top out in the upper 90s.

Fitts seems to fit the prototype pitcher that Breslow sought after this offseason. Breslow was in search of strike throwers and Fitts certainly is that as the Auburn product issued just 43 walks last season. He finished sixth in all of minor league baseball in walk rate last season, per MLB.com. He also only yielded 20 walks in 112 innings between stints with Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley in 2022.

The Red Sox are in need of more pitching prospects, which is why Fitts could have been a target for Breslow. The young righty was ranked as New York’s 12th-best prospect in its farm system, according to MLB Pipeline. The Red Sox have only two pitching prospects ranked in the top 15 by MLB Pipeline.

To go along with Weissert and Fitts, Judice looks like a project piece for the Red Sox. The Yankees selected him out of Louisiana-Monroe in the eighth round in this year’s draft.

The 22-year-old has yet to make his pro debut, but sported a 3-3 record with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.132 WHIP out of the bullpen in his final season with the Warhawks. Judice is an imposing figure, too, with his 6-foot-8, 230-pound frame more suited for the gridiron than a pitcher’s mound.