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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The New York Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox, sources told ESPN, with the Yankees turning to the 27-year-old to improve their offense in just the eighth trade between the rivals since the start of the Divisional Era in 1969.

The Red Sox are receiving right-handers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice in the deal.

Verdugo spent the last four seasons in Boston after joining the Red Sox as the main return in the trade that sent star outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Verdugo, who is scheduled to make around $9 million in his final season of arbitration, hit .264/.324/.421 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs in 142 games this year. With Verdugo primed to reach free agency after the 2024 season, Boston put him on the trade market and while a number of teams inquired about his availability, the Yankees secured him to start in the outfield.

Following a season in which they finished 25th in runs scored in Major League Baseball, the Yankees have sought to retool their offense this winter. They’ve been involved in trade talks with the San Diego Padres for star outfielder Juan Soto, sources told ESPN, and could still pursue him as they enter the season with limited proven outfield options beyond Verdugo, star Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who is likelier to fill New York’s designated hitter role.

Others who can play outfield on New York’s 40-man roster include prospects Estevan Florial and Everson Pereira, utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera, recent waiver pickup Oscar Gonzalez and centerfielder Jasson Dominguez, who is expected to miss a significant portion of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

While Verdugo never blossomed into a star in Boston, he was a consistently above-league-average hitter and batted .281/.338/.424 with 43 home runs and 206 RBIs in 493 games with the Red Sox, where he spent most of the time playing the corner outfield spots and dabbled in centerfield.

New Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow dealt Verdugo from a crowded outfield that includes Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, Rob Refsnyder and a pair of rookies this season, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela. Boston’s best prospect, 19-year-old Roman Anthony, reached Double-A this year and is seen as a potential star after hitting .272/.403/.466 with 14 home runs and 64 RBIs across three levels in the minor leagues this year.

Fitts, 23, was a sixth-round pick by the Yankees out of Auburn in 2021 who has thrived in two minor league seasons. At Double-A this season, the righty struck out 163 and walked 43 over 152.2 innings while allowing 22 home runs.

With a high-carry fastball that sits around 93 mph and reaches 97, plus a sweeper he uses liberally as well as a cutter and changeup, Fitts projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter for a team with limited minor league starting-pitching depth.

Weissert, 28, debuted with the Yankees in 2022 and has gone 3-0 with a 4.60 ERA in 31⅓ big league innings after dominating Triple-A with a 2.16 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 125 innings. An 18th-round pick in 2016, Weissert is expected to join a Red Sox bullpen that got standout performances from closer Kenley Jansen, setup man Chris Martin and right-hander Josh Winckowski but lacked depth.

Judice, 22, is a 6-foot-8 and 230-pound righty taken by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 2023 draft out of Louisiana-Monroe. He did not pitch after being draft but posted a 3.74 ERA with 66 strikeouts and 15 walks in 53 innings during his senior season.

While he spent most of his time in college as a reliever — he mainly throws a fastball and slider — Judice did start in all three of his appearances in the Cape Cod League before the draft.

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Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

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Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still has a lot of love back in Boston.

Brad Marchand appeared to be holding back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and each linesperson clapped along.

The last remaining member of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while the Bruins plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

In his first game back as a Panther, the Boston crowd cheered him off the ice after the pregame warmups, as the TD Garden DJ played a mashup of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Marchand responded with a stick salute as he headed off via the visitors bench.

Fans wearing Marchand’s Boston and Florida No. 63 jerseys cheered again during introductions for the former Bruins captain. (They booed when he drew a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game, then gave a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play — a goal that first appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand picked up an assist.)

But things got really emotional during a commercial break midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a highlight reel from Marchand’s time in Boston — including shots of him raising the Stanley Cup, and ending with him posing with the captain’s “C” that he wore for just one full season.

Florida ended up winning the game, 4-3, on a last-minute goal.

A four-time All-Star who had 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 for goals, assists, short-handed and overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played is fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.

Marchand did play in the TD Garden as a visitor in February when he suited up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Although he was still a member of the Bruins, the Boston fans booed him.

He was traded to Florida a few weeks later as Boston sold off its roster and began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and skated on the Garden ice only in practice.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

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Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

OTTAWA — Defenseman Jake Walman, activated from injured reserve on Monday after missing the season’s first six games with an injury, scored in overtime on Tuesday night, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Walman, a late-season acquisition last year who helped Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Finals, was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 21, but the 28-year-old veteran picked up where he left off on Tuesday. He finished with 25 shifts across 18:51 of ice time, and registered four blocks.

The Oilers wrapped up their five-game road trip and handed the Senators their second consecutive loss on home ice.

The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 early in the third. Ottawa got on the board after winning a puck battle along the boards. Drake Batherson dished a pass to Dylan Cozens who scored on the power play past Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves. Just over a minute later Thomas Chabot beat a screened Skinner to tie the game.

The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first with a power-play goal when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Connor McDavid, who snapped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the season.

Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 just 49 seconds into the second period after a turnover by the Senators. Leon Draisaitl skated in before sliding a pass back to rookie Isaac Howard, who beat Linus Ullmark, who finished with 22 saves, for his first career NHL goal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hughes’ 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

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Hughes' 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

TORONTO — Jack Hughes registered the third hat trick of his NHL career, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Cody Glass and Brenden Dillon also scored for New Jersey, and Jake Allen had 23 saves. Jesper Bratt added three assists for the Devils, who have won five in a row since opening the season with a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

John Tavares and Matias Maccelli scored for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 shots. William Nylander had two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two in a row and four of six after a season-opening win.

Toronto led 1-0 after the first period before giving up three goals in the first five minutes of the second much to the dismay of the home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev left with an upper-body injury during a second-period penalty kill after he collided with Devils center Dawson Mercer.

Toronto challenged New Jersey’s first goal for goaltender interference only to see the call on the ice stand. The Devils went on the power play with the ensuing delay-of-game penalty, and Glass made it 2-1 moments after Tanev skated off to the locker room.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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