Alex Verdugo appeared to take a subtle swipe at his former manager during his introductory press conference with the New York Yankees.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the ex-Boston Red Sox outfielder expressed his excitement to play for Yankees skipper Aaron Boone. His praise for Boone could also be interpreted as a shot at Alex Cora.
"I'm very, very excited to work with Aaron," Verdugo said. "I've seen the way he has his players' backs. The one that really stands out to me is when he's like 'These guys are savages' and he's yelling at the umpire. I mean, that's something I want to see out of my head coach, man. I want to see some fire, some fight for the guys. I think just instead of airing people out, have their backs.
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"I'm really excited for this fresh start and just to kind of get with the guys and really just change the narrative. Go out there and work hard, play hard, and just have fun. That's the biggest thing."
The key part of Verdugo's answer is, "Instead of airing people out, have their backs." Cora publicly criticized Verdugo on multiple occasions, most notably in August when he benched Verdugo for showing up late to the ballpark. He also sat Verdugo in June for a lack of hustle.
Those infractions seemed to be the final straw as the Red Sox traded Verdugo to the Yankees in exchange for a trio of pitchers earlier this month. The move came as little surprise as Verdugo was rumored to be on the trade block as soon as Boston's last-place 2023 season came to an end.
Verdugo showed flashes of potential during his four seasons with the Red Sox but was unable to find consistency, paricularly at the plate. Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the infamous 2020 Mookie Betts trade, the 27-year-old slashed .281/.337/.428 with 43 home runs and 206 RBIs in 493 games played with Boston. He also was a Gold Glove award finalist in 2023.
Shortly after dealing Verdugo, the Red Sox acquired outfielder Tyler O'Neill in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. O'Neill joins an outfield depth chart that currently includes Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Rob Refsnyder.
