With very rare exceptions, Boston Red Sox fans are typically fond of anything that negatively impacts the New York Yankees.
If the Yankees trade away a player and they excel, Red Sox fans lap it up. But what happens when a former Yankees prospect does so well on a third team that he's shipped off again to become a cornerstone in the Boston lineup?
Such was the case with Caleb Durbin, who was a Yankees farmhand 15 months ago, and has since been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, then the Red Sox. Coming off a third-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting, Durbin's continued growth is a key to Boston reaching its ceiling this year.
It's good to hear that a team misses a player you just traded for, and that seems to be the case with Yankees manager Aaron Boone when it comes to Durbin.
"I remember it being hard to trade him,” Boone said on Wednesday, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “I like the player. Just does a lot of things well. Just a good ballplayer, all around. Can play multiple positions. Has the running game in there. Has a little bit of sock, but really good bat-to-ball skills. Knows the zone. Even though we were getting a frontline closer, which I was excited about, it was hard to see Durbin go just because he is a quality player.”
In the original Durbin deal from December 2024, the Yankees acquired two-time All-Star Devin Williams, who proceeded to put up the worst season of his career in pinstripes before signing with the New York Mets this offseason.
So Durbin has a chance not only to make the Yankees regret a bad trade for many years, but to become a true fan favorite with their most bitter rival. That's good, clean fun for Red Sox fans.