TAMPA – The Yankees saw plenty of Alex Verdugo over the last four years, enough to want him off the Red Sox and in their own lineup.
“I’ve been preaching for years, ‘You gotta try to get that guy,’” Aaron Judge said this week.
Judge apparently wasn’t the only one.
A fresh-shaven Alex Verdugo. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post “[Anthony] Rizzo’s dropped hints at me on first base during the years, like, ‘Hey, bro, we’re trying to get you,’” Verdugo said Thursday morning inside the Yankees clubhouse at Steinbrenner Field. “I’d just tell him, ‘Nah, no way man, no way.’ But as soon as I came over here, Rizz was like, ‘I told you.’ It’s cool to know that some guys have been pushing for me. They like the way I play and the kind of flair that I bring.”
The Yankees’ front office finally reeled in Verdugo over the offseason in a rare trade with the Red Sox, sending a trio of pitchers to Boston.
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The Red Sox dealt from a crowded outfield, but Verdugo also appeared to have worn out his welcome with the Red Sox after butting heads with manager Alex Cora, who benched him twice last season for arriving to the park late and then a lack of hustle.
“In certain ways, AC was hard on me,” Verdugo said. “But I don’t have any hard feelings towards him. It’s one of things towards the end, we ran our course out a little bit. But as a person and outside of baseball, I loved him. I loved his kids, his family was awesome. His kids hung out with my kids.
“It’s one of those things that’s a little bit weird because outside of the game, he was great. Even as a manager, he’s a good manager. It’s just we were clashing heads a little bit towards the end. For me, I [wish] him the best. I hope he can get more years out there to manage and all that. But I’m very happy being where I am right now.”
Alex Verdugo in pinstripes. AP Aaron Boone, who is good friends with Cora, said the Yankees did their homework on Verdugo before acquiring him in December.
He added that the left-handed hitting outfielder will have a “fresh start” in pinstripes.
“He walks in here with a blank slate as a guy that a lot of people in that room have a lot of respect for,” Boone said. “He’s fit in really well here early. Even though he’s had a good start to his career, I feel like he’s one of those guys that’s kind of scratching the surface.”
Verdugo didn’t have monster numbers against the Yankees – he’s hit .263 with five home runs and a .715 OPS in 55 games against them – but still left an impression on Judge and others.
Judge mentioned admiring Verdugo because he was a “gamer” and “competitor” who played through injuries.
“I play through s–t every year, man,” Verdugo said. “I’m not a guy if I have a bruised heel or if my shoulder’s hanging a little bit, I play through it. We work with what we have that day and I try to put forth the best of myself in the circumstances. I push through whatever.”
