The Boston Red Sox’s outfield has a new look for the 2024 season. Tyler O’Neill, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder and Ceddanne Rafaela have put on a show in Boston’s outfield and some have been electric on the offensive side of the ball as well.

But before all the changes were made for 2024, Red Sox Nation had grown used to seeing Alex Verdugo in right field. Boston’s outfield defense hasn’t suffered in his absence, but seeing him play so well for its arch-rival stings a bit.

Verdugo is batting .264/.349/.432 with five homers and six doubles for the New York Yankees. He’s let everyone know how much fun he’s been having with his new best friends, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and he’s come in clutch for his squad on a few occasions.

Verdugo blasted a three-run homer in the first inning of the Yankees’ May 7 game against the Astros. His three hits and four RBI contributed heavily to a seven-run throttling of Justin Verlander. He also bashed an extra-innings homer against the Diamondbacks in New York’s second series of the season.

The outfielder has also made a few nifty catches in the outfield, as he tends to do. He’s offered the Yankees pastures stability — since Brett Gardner left the team in 2021, they’ve started 16 different players in left field.

But the worst part about Verdugo’s move to the Yankees is that everyone loves him. New York underwent a sweeping cultural change this offseason, of which Verdugo is a huge part. He, Marcus Stroman and Juan Soto have done some work to change the Yankees’ “professional” image that so many sticks in the mud love. New York still forced Verdugo to shave his face and limited him to one chain per game, but Dugie’s energy is a step into the modern era for the Yanks, regardless.

It would be wrong to say that the Red Sox miss Verdugo. O’Neill and Refsnyder have been unexpected juggernauts at the plate and Duran and Abreu have played stellar defense. But helping the Yankees improve should not be an outcome of the Red Sox’s offseason, ever.

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