ESPN: The Yankees Deal With Their Enemy by Trading Away a controversial veteran Prospect.

Perhaps the Yankees and Red Sox are growing accustomed to this. The two acrimonious AL East rivals met for a winter trade for the second consecutive year, turning what had previously been an extremely uncommon occurrence into an unexpected yearly occurrence.

The 2014 trade that sent infielder Stephen Drew to New York was the only transaction the Red Sox and Yankees executed between 1997 and 2021. However, in 2021, the two teams made a trade in which the Yankees cut Adam Ottavino’s salary. In 2023, they made two trades: a small one for outfielder Greg Allen and the first significant one between the two teams in recent memory, in which Alex Verdugo was traded to the Yankees for prospects.

Boston looked to the Bombers for a catching prospect on Wednesday after the Red Sox were forced to give up catcher Kyle Teel in a deal with the White Sox for Garrett Crochet. They traded pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international pool space for teenage catcher Carlos Narvaez.

Yankees Observing Sasaki Roki
Born in Venezuela, Narvaez has been a part of the Yankees organization since he was 17. He has showed some promise as a backup catcher, drawing walks, hitting for power, filling in at first base, and striking out a lot.

He had a.412 slugging average and a.370 on-base percentage while batting.254 at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre last season.

Rodriguez-Cruz, who has spent three seasons in the minor leagues with the Red Sox, is a promising young arm that the Yankees are acquiring. At just 21, he has made 48 appearances, including 44 starts, and has an 11-11 record with a.261 ERA. But he hasn’t yet been seen above Single-A level.

The rise in bonus-pool funds is also noteworthy because it should give the Yankees a greater chance to acquire Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, one of the major offseason prizes. Sasaki has been posted to MLB teams and will meet with the Yankees today. just international bonus pool money, which can be transferred between teams, may be used to sign Sasaki because he is still just 23.

GM Brian Cashman stated Wednesday, as reported by the New York Post, “It’s a big arm with a big desire to be great.” “He wants to become one of the best pitchers in the world, and we would love to help make that happen.”