He’s Richard Fitts, and he comes from the funniest set of parents in all of Jefferson County, Alabama. Though in a baseball sense, he comes from . . . the New York Yankees. The Red Sox sent Alex Verdugo to the Bronx for Fitts and two other young arms in an extremely rare trade between the two biggest rivals in North American sports.
Since divisional play began in 1969, this is just the ninth trade conducted between the Sox and Yankees. The very first of these deals explains why they are so rare: the Sox traded away Sparky Lyle for two guys named Danny Cater and Mario Guerrero in 1972.