On Friday, the former Red Sox closer and NESN analyst Jonathan Papelbon fired on Verdugo in a social media post, he called out Verdugo in a rant on X.
The bashing on X came after Verdugo praised Yankees manager Aaron Boone during his introductory press conference while throwing shade at Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
The former Boston All-Star closer Papelbon wrote on X,
“Verdugo, I mean Vertigo, is a [expletive]. Cora has his players’ and teammates’ backs more than anyone in the game. You aired yourself out by being late, lazy, and unproductive. If I played for Cora, I’m drilling this [expletive], just saying.”
During Verdugo”s introductory press conference, he shared his excitement to be playing under Yankees manager Boone but seems to take a shot at Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
On Thursday, it was the first time Verdugo spoke with New York media, and the outfielder explained that he is excited to play for new manager Aaron Boone.
Looking back, his final season at Boston wasn”t exactly a pleasant past, as he was benched by manager Alex Cora and routinely critiqued by the local media.
Speaking with the New York media, he said,
“I’m very, very excited to work with Aaron, I’ve seen the way he has his players’ backs. That’s something I want to see out of my head coach. I want to see some fire, some fight for the guys, and I think just instead of airing people out, have their backs. ‘m really excited about this fresh start just to kinda get with the guys and really just change the narrative, man. Go out there, play hard, work hard, just have fun, and that”s the biggest thing.”
