Aaron Judge is Alex Verdugo’s biggest fan

The New York Yankees made some waves in this off season, spending huge to get Juan Soto on the roster. But one player is never enough, and to reinforce their lineup, the Bronx Bombers were looking at Boston Red Sox star Alex Verdugo.

According to reports by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, Verdugo knew that Yankees captain Aaron Judge was applying pressure on management to sign him.

Verdugo reportedly told Hoch, “Rizzo was dropping hints at me at first base during the year. I was just telling him, ‘Nah, no way, man, no way.’ As soon as I came over here, Rizz was like, ‘I told you so!’”

Alex Verdugo was brought up by the Dodgers and had an up and down start to his career, being seen as a huge prospect, but dogged by injury. Moving to Boston, he began to get traction and made a huge splash in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The Tucson, Arizona native was eligible to represent Mexico via his father and was part of a stellar squad that included Randy Arozarena, Joey Meneses, Isaac Paredes, and Rowdy Tellez. Verdugo stood out as one of the best players in the tournament and his stock rose immeasurably.

Coming over to the Yankees in exchange for three prospects, with the Red Sox Verdugo hit .264, had an OBP of .324 and a slugged .421. He also hit 13 home runs and drove in 54 runs.

Aaron Judge admitted to pressuring general manager Brian Cashman for years to deal for Verdugo, saying, “I’ve been preaching for years that we’ve got to get that guy. He’s a gamer, he’s a competitor. He plays hard. I’ve seen him play through injuries; I know he was a little banged up even last year, he had a couple of things going on. But every single time we played them, he was out there hustling, doing his thing.”

Verdugo seems to be very appreciative of the attention, saying, “It’s cool to know that some guys have been pushing for me to come over here. They like the way I play and the kind of flair that I bring.”