Re-Grading the Yankees' Major 2024 Offseason Moves After Halfway Point
By jhaverford
Trading For Alex Verdugo: B+
Teams with strong rivalries rarely make deals together, but the Yankees and Boston Red Sox shocked baseball fans last summer. Alex Verdugo was the biggest name involved as Boston sent him to New York for reliever Greg Weissert and a couple of minor leaguers with potential. The deal looks like a good one for the Yankees thanks to Verdugo fitting into the lineup with timely hitting.
Verdugo’s .247 batting and .305 on-base percentage doesn’t seem that impressive on paper. However, there is no debate that his presence has improved the offense. The Yankees often trust Verdugo to hit behind Aaron Judge in the lineup against right-handed pitchers. Verdugo and Juan Soto provide the left-handed hitting that the team desperately lacked last season.
Yankees fans love the bravado of Verdugo to make him another fan favorite in their first season on the roster. The memorable moment of Verdugo hitting a home run in his first game back at Fenway Park and talking trash while rounding the bases made him a hero to many New Yorkers. The timely hitting has made up for lackluster averages for another strong Yankees trade.
Weissert is having a good season in Boston to make the Red Sox feel better about the trade, but the Yankees bullpen has not struggled in his absence. There is more risk of this trade looking weaker down the road if the other traded prospects, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice, become players for the Red Sox, but Cashman should be ecstatic about it right now.