On the night of Dec. 5, Red Sox righty Garrett Whitlock was at his gym’s Christmas party in Birmingham, Ala., and he was sitting around the table with a few other pitchers with whom he trains over the offseason.
With him was free agent right-hander Cooper Criswell, who was about a week away from becoming the first free agent signing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s tenure, and a New York Yankees farmhand named Richard Fitts. Whitlock and Fitts had trained together for years, and the three spent the night talking about how Fitts could potentially be included as part of a potential trade for San Diego superstar Juan Soto.
Suddenly, Fitts’ phone rang. It was the Yankees’ farm director, so he took the call outside. Whitlock and Criswell carried on their conversation, until Fitts began excitedly tapping the glass and pointing at Whitlock.
“I was like, oh I guess we were right, he’s going to San Diego, that’s cool, and we didn’t think anything of it,” Whitlock said. “Then he comes back in and he goes, ‘Hey, you’ve got a new teammate.’ And we’re all like, ‘wait what?’ ‘Yeah, they’re trading Verdugo and I’m coming in the deal.’ And I’m like ‘oh snap!’ We thought it was the whole San Diego thing, so that was wild.”
Fitts wound up being one of three prospects acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade, coming to Boston alongside fellow righties Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice. Upon his arrival, Fitts immediately became one of the Red Sox top pitching prospects, and this past week he came up to Boston to take part in the club’s Rookie Development Program and attend Winter Weekend in Springfield.
“I got to share that moment with him and he was probably more excited than I was,” said Fitts, reflecting on the night of the trade. “That should just show you what kind of a guy he is, he’s awesome.”
On the night of Dec. 5, Red Sox righty Garrett Whitlock was at his gym’s Christmas party in Birmingham, Ala., and he was sitting around the table with a few other pitchers with whom he trains over the offseason.
With him was free agent right-hander Cooper Criswell, who was about a week away from becoming the first free agent signing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s tenure, and a New York Yankees farmhand named Richard Fitts. Whitlock and Fitts had trained together for years, and the three spent the night talking about how Fitts could potentially be included as part of a potential trade for San Diego superstar Juan Soto.
Suddenly, Fitts’ phone rang. It was the Yankees’ farm director, so he took the call outside. Whitlock and Criswell carried on their conversation, until Fitts began excitedly tapping the glass and pointing at Whitlock.
“I was like, oh I guess we were right, he’s going to San Diego, that’s cool, and we didn’t think anything of it,” Whitlock said. “Then he comes back in and he goes, ‘Hey, you’ve got a new teammate.’ And we’re all like, ‘wait what?’ ‘Yeah, they’re trading Verdugo and I’m coming in the deal.’ And I’m like ‘oh snap!’ We thought it was the whole San Diego thing, so that was wild.”
Fitts wound up being one of three prospects acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade, coming to Boston alongside fellow righties Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice. Upon his arrival, Fitts immediately became one of the Red Sox top pitching prospects, and this past week he came up to Boston to take part in the club’s Rookie Development Program and attend Winter Weekend in Springfield.
“I got to share that moment with him and he was probably more excited than I was,” said Fitts, reflecting on the night of the trade. “That should just show you what kind of a guy he is, he’s awesome.”
