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Here’s what experts are saying about the pitchers the Red Sox acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade
In return for Verdugo, Boston added a trio of right-handed pitchers.
The early word on the prospects the Red Sox acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade: The Red Sox engaged in a rare trade with the rival Yankees on Tuesday, sending outfielder Alex Verdugo to New York in exchange for three right-handed pitchers.
In return, Boston acquired 28-year-old Greg Weissert, 23-year-old Richard Fitts, and 22-year-old Nicholas Judice. Here’s a little info about each player:
Richard Fitts: Selected by New York in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Auburn, Fitts posted a 3.48 ERA with an 11-5 record for the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate (the Somerset Patriots) this past season. He was named the 2023 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, striking out 163 in 152.2 innings pitched. Prior to the trade, Fitts was listed by MLB.com as the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect.
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Per Baseball America, Fitts mostly throws a mid-90s four-seam fastball and a mid-80s “sweeper” slider. He also possesses a changeup and a cutter, but has used those pitches significantly less while working in New York’s minor league system.
“Fitts throws a lot of strikes, but scouts aren’t convinced he’s a [starting pitcher] longterm,” noted Ian Cundall of Sox Prospects.
“Based on his strike-throwing, pitchability, fastball shape, and strong makeup reports, there’s at least a chance he could emerge as a back-end starter,” wrote Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
Nicholas Judice: The youngest of the trio, Judice is possibly the most intriguing prospect acquired in the trade. MLB draft experts identified him as a potential sleeper pick before he was selected by the Yankees in the eighth round in 2023 out of Louisiana-Monroe.
Standing at 6-foot-8, he possesses a fastball that usually clocks in the low 90s, but reached 100 miles per hour in the spring of 2023 according to a pre-draft MLB scouting report. He also throws a mid-80s slider (which Baseball America identified as the “best secondary pitch” in New York’s 2023 draft class), as well as a little-used changeup.
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Judice pitched for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Code League over the summer, finishing with an 0-1 record and a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings (adding 16 strikeouts).
Greg Weissert: A Long Island native, Weissert is the only one of the group who has MLB experience. Though slightly older than the other two pitchers, he’s a “big league-ready reliever,” per Baseball America.
According to Speier, Weissert possesses a lower-to-mid-90s four-seam fastball and sinker, along with a sweeper-slider (seen as the best in New York’s minor league system) and a changeup.
Over two seasons of sporadic MLB work, Weissert has posted a 3-0 record with a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched. Because of the effectiveness of his slider, he’s averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings as a professional across the minor and major league levels.
Trivia: Red Sox-Yankees trades are notably rare. There have been just six deals between the two teams since 1990 (including the most recent one).
In one 1997 deal, the Red Sox sent Randy Brown and Mike Stanley to the Yankees for Jim Mecir (initially listed as a player to be named) and a younger pitching prospect. That prospect was eventually traded as part of the deal with the Expos that brought Pedro Martinez to Boston. Name that pitcher.
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(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: His father had also played for the Red Sox, hitting 43 home runs for Boston in a single season in 1984.
Scores and schedules:
Tomorrow, the Bruins face the Sabres at TD Garden at 7 p.m.
Also on Thursday, the Patriots will be in Pittsburgh to play the Steelers at 8:15 p.m.
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- NCAA President Charlie Baker calls for new tier of Division I where schools can pay athletes
MLB lottery: Here are the results from baseball’s lottery for the top picks in the 2024 draft. The Red Sox ended up 12th.
On this day: In 1970, the Bruins defeated the Penguins 6-3 thanks to Phil Esposito’s hat-trick. Elsewhere, the 2-10 Patriots were swept aside by the ascendant Dolphins (in Don Shula’s first season with Miami) with a 37-20 final score.
Daily highlight: Laolu Oke put an exclamation point on Montana’s 91-67 win over Montana State Northern on Tuesday with an impressive dunk.
Trivia answer: Tony Armas Jr.
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