Yankees’ Aaron Boone Explains Why Club Made Recent Trade With Red Sox
Aaron Boone #AaronBoone
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees made a rare cross-rivalry trade on Friday that led to a notable shakeup in the Bronx.
The Red Sox traded outfielder Greg Allen to the Yankees for right-handed pitching prospect Diego Hernández and cash consideration.
The move was made because Allen had an upward mobility clause — meaning he had to be called up or traded onto another big-league roster.
When Allen became an option for the Yankees, general manager Brian Cashman designated outfielder Aaron Hicks for assignment with two full seasons left on his seven-year contract extension signed in 2019.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained the organization’s reasoning for adding Allen to the roster in place of Hicks.
“Greg Allen’s in a good place,” Boone said on Jomboy Media’s “Talkin’ Yanks” after the move. “I feel like skillset wise he’s still very much the same player (as the first stint in New York). You know, he’s 23-for-23 on stolen base attempts in Triple-A. He’s running well, he’s been hitting well, he’s played this role well, he’s played this role with us well. To me it just came down to a better fit for the role, that’s where the decision ultimately comes down.”
Allen hit .250 with 11 extra-base hits including a pair of home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .795 OPS in 37 games for Triple-A Worcester on top of his aforementioned perfect record in stolen base attempts.
Hicks was incredibly unproductive for the Yankees this season. Allen will have a great chance to improve a relative area of weakness as the fourth outfielder for the Yankees.
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