Ex-Yankees Pitcher Shares Feelings On Being Traded To Red Sox

Of all the possible changes of scenery in Major League Baseball, none are more jarring than going from the Yankees to the Red Sox -- or vice versa.

Greg Weissert now knows the feeling. Boston acquired the 29-year-old reliever in the December trade that sent Alex Verdugo to New York. The Red Sox also landed pitchers Richard Fitts, who's considered the prize of the deal, and Nicholas Judice.

On the first day of spring training Wednesday, Weissert offered his thoughts on switching sides in baseball's biggest rivalry.

"I was pretty surprised," Weissert said, via MassLive's Chris Smith. "It caught me a little off guard. I was just sitting at home on my couch late one night, 9:30 or something like that. And the call came in and they let me know I was going to be traded. It was pretty crazy because I had been with the Yankees my whole career. So to be with a new team is definitely different but it's exciting."

Weissert appeared in 29 games over the last two seasons for the Yankees, all in relief. He compiled a 4.60 ERA, including 4.05 last season, along with a 1.277 WHIP and 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Red Sox will hold their first full-squad spring training workout next Monday.