Yankees' Verdugo excited to work with manager who 'has his players' backs'

New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo is excited for a change of scenery and looks forward to working with new manager Aaron Boone after he was acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox.

"When you're struggling on a baseball team, there's a lot of expectations, and when you're not really meeting them, you start bumping heads a little bit," Verdugo said when asked about his rocky relationship with former manager Alex Cora in Boston, according to Talkin' Yanks.

"I'm very, very excited to work with Aaron. I've seen the way he has his players' backs. The one that really gets out to me is when he's like, 'These guys are savages.' He's yelling at the umpire, and that's something I want to see out of my head coach. I want to see some fire, fights for the guys. Instead of just airing people out, have their backs."

Cora benched Verdugo twice last season. The second incident occurred in early August when Verdugo reportedly showed up late to the ballpark before a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, drawing the skipper's ire postgame.

Verdugo said in October that last season left a "bad taste in his mouth" and that he was looking forward to making some changes with the Red Sox.

Following his trade earlier in December, the outfielder said he initially felt "mad" about joining Boston's rival, according to YES Network.

"I was like, 'Man, they really sent me to the rivals - the Yankees?'" he said. "After about a day, I started sitting back, reminiscing about how this year went with the Red Sox, everything that was going on. ... I want to prove (people) wrong."

Verdugo heads to the Yankees after spending the past four seasons with the Red Sox, where he slashed .281/.338/.424 with 43 home runs and 206 RBIs in 493 games. He's projected to start in left field for the Yankees.