Yankees Outfielder Has No Hard Feelings Towards Red Sox Manager

A former Boston Red Sox outfielder spoke about his relationship with Alex Cora now that he's playing for the Yankees.

New York Yankees Spring Training is fully underway as the first exhibition game have been played down in Tampa, Fla.

Juan Soto, Marcus Stroman, and Alex Verdugo are three of the new faces fans will start getting used to as the Yankees enter the 2024 season.

Verdugo could be a game-changer for the Yankees. While much of the focus is on Soto — and rightfully so — Verdugo is a respected veteran who is entering his eighth MLB season.

He is in New York after the Boston Red Sox traded him for three pitchers. It appeared clear that the Red Sox and Verdugo were heading for a breakup as Red Sox manager Alex Cora made comments about Verdugo throughout last season.

For instance, in August of last season Core benched Verdugo after he reportedly didn't arrive until two hours before the game. Afterward, Cora explained the benching was his decision. 

"I decided not to play him," Cora said. "Today, we took a step back as a team. We have to make sure everybody is available every single day here for us to get to wherever we've got to go. That wasn't the case."

Verdugo talked about his relationship with Cora, saying he didn't have any hard feelings toward him, according to ESPN.

"In certain ways, 'AC' was hard on me, but I don't have any hard feelings toward him. It's one of those things. Toward the end, we kind of ran our course out a little bit," Verdugo said.

While there aren't any hard feelings between the two, Verdugo confirms what many speculated. 

Boston will look to improve after a tough 2023 season, finishing 78-84. Boston will miss Verdugo's bat as he slashed .264/.324/.421 with 13 home runs in 142 games last season.

The Yankees weren't much better, as they went 82-80. However, similar production would bring value to their lineup as they press forward to return to the playoffs.