What to know about the three pitchers the Red Sox acquired from Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade
BOSTON -- Chaim Bloom's first move as Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer was the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade (which could also be termed as a debacle) that brought Alex Verdugo to Boston. Craig Breslow's first move as Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer sent Verdugo out of town.
Breslow took his first swing as the man in charge of the Red Sox on Tuesday night, crossing the Boston-New York rivalry and sending Verdugo to the Bronx for three pitchers. He made it clear that pitching would be his priority in his first offseason at the helm, so he took an outfielder that every other team knew Boston would be moving this offseason and turned him into three arms that will help with organizational pitching depth and potentially make an impact at the big league club.
Those arms are all righties: 29-year-old reliever Greg Weissert, 23-year-old Richard Fitts, and 22-year-old Nicholas Judice. Of that trio, only Weissert has experience in the big leagues. But Fitts appears to have the most upside of the bunch.
Here's a quick look at the three newest members of the Red Sox organization.
What Red Sox fans should know about Richard Fitts
We'll start with Fitts because, again, he has the most upside. The 6-foot-3 righty will turn 24 on Dec. 17, and was a sixth-round pick out of Auburn in 2021. A foot injury during his junior year hurt his draft stock, but he's remained healthy since becoming a professional.
Fitts made a big leap in 2023, spending the entire season in Double A. He went 11-5 with a 3.48 ERA and 1.140 WHIP over 27 starts for the Somerset Patriots, and fanned 163 hitters over 152.2 innings while issuing 43 walks. He can eat innings, going six or more innings in 18 of those 27 starts.
His fastball hovers in the low- to mid-90s, with a changeup and a slider also in his arsenal. Fitts will likely open the 2024 season in Triple A Worcester, and evaluators seem split on whether or not he'll be a late-game reliever or back-end starter at the big league level.
What Red Sox fans should know about Greg Weissert
The 28-year-old New Yorker was drafted by the Yankees in 2016 out of Fordham and made his MLB debut in 2022. He was up-and-down out of the bullpen over the last two seasons, going 3-0 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.277 WHIP over 31.1 innings. In 2023, he tossed 20 innings over 17 appearances, allowing nine earned runs off 21 hits (including three homers) while striking out 22 and walking eight.
Weissert has pitched 5.2 innings against the Red Sox in his career, with 3.2 of those innings coming at Fenway Park. Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela took Weissert deep in a 5-0 Boston win last September.
Weissert has a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a sweeper, and a changeup at his disposal.
What Red Sox fans should know about Nicholas Judice
Rounding out Tuesday night's trade is Judice, 22, who was an eighth-round pick by the Yankees last year out of the University of Louisiana Monroe. He's a big hurler at 6-foot-8 and has spent the majority of his college career as a reliever. He could develop into a late-inning guy at the big league level.
