Alex Verdugo was apparently always going to be a member of the New York Yankees.

At least, that’s what Aaron Judge had in mind. It’s no secret that he holds a lot of power within the organization, and he was reportedly pushing the front office hard to go after the left-handed outfielder.

Verdugo came over in an inter-divisional trade, with his left-handed bat and corner outfield position being desirable to a team that really needed both of those things. Judge knew that and got an up close look at Verdugo during their matchups.

Via Bryan Hoch, the former Boston Red Sox outfielder said that Judge had been instrumental in the trade:

“Rizzo was dropping hints at me at first base during the year. I was just telling him, ‘Nah, no way, man, no way.’ As soon as I came over here, Rizz was like, ‘I told you so!’”

He revealed that when he’d get on first base, Anthony Rizzo would tell him what Judge was up to. Once the trade was complete, Rizzo couldn’t help but say he had told him so.

Alex Verdugo reveals how Aaron Judge influenced outfielder’s move to the Bronx

Aaron Judge wields a lot of power with the Yankees

As the only MVP for the New York Yankees this side of 2007 (Alex Rodriguez won the award then), Aaron Judge has a legitimate claim to be the best player they’ve had in quite some time. That carries a lot of weight.

Aaron Judge dabbled in the front office
He’s also a naural leader and has been named the 16th captain in team history. That also brings a lot of power, and he’s utilized it. He revealed over the offseason that he had lengthy discussions with the front office over its use of analytics and which metrics they leaned on.

Now, Judge has been revealed as a player manager of sorts, pushing the team to make a trade they ultimately did. It’s unclear what role if any Judge played in the Juan Soto trade, but the idea of him advocating for that move as well certainly cannot be ruled out.