Yankees, Red Sox Make 1st Trade Since 2014; Adam Ottavino, Frank German to BOS

The New York Yankees announced Monday that they have traded pitchers Adam Ottavino and Frank German to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later and cash considerations.

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic first reported the deal.

Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, it's the first trade between the teams "since the 2014 trade deadline, when New York acquired Stephen Drew for Kelly Johnson."

Ottavino, 35, had a rough 2020 season, finishing 2-3 with a 5.89 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 18.1 innings and 24 total appearances. It was an unusually poor showing from the 35-year-old, who has a career 3.53 ERA and was far better for the Yankees in 2019 (1.90 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 73 appearances). 

For both teams, the move made financial sense, with the Red Sox potentially gaining a nice addition to their bullpen who they could flip midseason if they become sellers. 

What's more surprising is the Yankees and Red Sox doing business together. The hated rivals have made just two trades together since 1998 and have very rarely done business together. You could hardly blame the Red Sox for not calling up their rivals since famously trading them Babe Ruth in 1919 for $100,000, a deal so bad it was blamed for Boston's 85-year title drought. 

The teams have had large droughts between trades before. According to CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson, the teams went 14 years between deals together in the 1970s and 80s before swapping Don Baylor and Mike Easler in 1986. Deals have been even rarer this century, as the rivalry was reignited in a big way, namely through Boston's drought-ending 2004 title, which included a reverse sweep of the Yankees in the AL Pennant. 

The Red Sox have won four titles this century, as opposed to two for the Yankees.