The trade:
Yankees acquire OF Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox for RHP Greg Weissert, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Nicholas Judice
It isn’t often that the Yankees and Red Sox make a trade. While we have seen significant swaps in the past that go beyond the purchase of Babe Ruth (Don Baylor for Mike Easler, as one example), most of their deals are minor.
This trade is far from a blockbuster, but is isn’t insignificant. Brian Cashman talked about wanting two left-handed hitting outfielders, and Verdugo fits. His position doesn’t fit quite as easily, however. Defensive metrics like Verdugo as a corner outfielder – as a center fielder, however, he is below average.
The bat is a potential fit as a complementary lineup piece more than a main lineup piece. In 2019-2020, Verdugo hit a rather impressive .300/.351/476 (117 OPS+) in 598 plate appearances with 38 doubles, 18 home runs, and 59 runs batted in. His production has fallen off a bit in his last three seasons, however, as he owns a .278/.334/.417 (103 OPS+) line over 1,850 plate appearances. The Yankees acquired an average-ish MLB corner outfielder, which is better than what they trotted out there in 2023. However, the bar should not be the 2023 Yankees outfield as many players can clear that. The true bar is Verdugo himself when you think about it. Verdugo is pretty good, but teams should strive to acquire players better than him.
Two publicized benchings by Alex Cora during the 2023 season also raises eyebrows. One suspension was due to a lack of hustle, while the other was due to arriving late at the ballpark.
As for what the Yankees gave up, Fitts is the most intriguing of the bunch. In 27 starts for Double-A Somerset, Fitts pitched to a 3.48 ERA (3.92 FIP) over 152.2 IP with a 6.8% BB and 25.9% K. The innings were the third highest in all of minor league baseball. His ceiling is probably in the neighborhood of a modern-day innings eater. His most probable outcome, however, may be as a spot starter/long reliever type. While he has impeccable control, he lacks command which makes him vulnerable to the long ball (22 in 2023). A move to the pen can lead to an uptick in velocity, which makes it easier to get around command issues. Fitts was never linked to the Soto talks as he isn’t at the level of Drew Thorpe/Chase Hampton in prospect circles. However, that doesn’t mean he is without value. He’ll probably make it to MLB in some capacity.
We have seen Weissert in MLB over the last two seasons. Thus far, he hasn’t been able to translate minor league success to MLB success, as he owns a 4.60 ERA (4.29 FIP) over 31.1 innings with a 9.6% BB and 24.4% K. Weissert’s stuff can be mesmerizing, but he has trouble controlling it. So far, despite his funkiness, he hasn’t shown any special ability to get right-handed hitters out. To be exact, right-handed batters hit him better than left-handed ones. The sample size is still on the small size.
Judice has yet to make his professional debut. Drafted in the 8th round in the 2023 draft out of Louisiana-Monroe, it should come as no surprise that he stands at 6’8″. The Yankees love to draft tall pitchers, and Judice is that. Judice will turn 23 in April, so he is on the older side for a player who has yet to make his debut. He is older than a typical “lottery ticket” but that is still the best way to describe him. If he can start pumping out 98 MPH fastballs consistently, he has a chance. That is true of approximately 328,923 pitchers across minor league baseball.
Bottom Line:
If your first thought is that the Yankees gave up little in this trade, I will ask you this: What exactly could Boston ask for in a deal for a mid-level corner outfielder in his last year of arbitration? This move is a salary dump for the Red Sox, which lowers the prospect ask.
Verdugo is a player that Yankees fans love to hate. But we need to look past that and ask ourselves if he is a good baseball player. The answer to that is Yes. Nobody can deny that Verdugo is a capable MLB player who does many things pretty well, even if he doesn’t own a plus-plus offensive tool. However, you can fairly ask how he fits with the 2024 Yankees, especially if Juan Soto is acquired. He isn’t a center fielder (he can fake it out there a few times a week, perhaps) and it is dangerous to rely on Aaron Judge to be the everyday center fielder. An acquisition of Soto gives the Yankees three corner outfielders, no true center fielder, and Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter spot. Jasson Dominguez (who probably profiles as a corner outfielder himself down the road) will be back sometime in 2024. However, it is foolish to think we can rely on him to be above average once he returns. It took Bryce Harper, one of the best baseball players in the league, a few months to find his power coming off of a similar injury.
The Yankees entered this offseason with glaring holes. The squad was boring as they plodded their way through an 82-80 season. Verdugo doesn’t make the roster any more exciting, but we have to be fair and admit that he is an upgrade. If they keep him (I think they will), it is only a 1-year commitment at between $9-10M. That doesn’t seem significant enough to keep the Yankees away from Soto and/or Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In the end, if this is the biggest move we are talking about when camp opens, the Yankees are in trouble. As of now, I am optimistic that won’t be the case.