TAMPA, Fla. -- The conversations would frequently take place at first base before Alex Verdugo took his lead, eyeing each movement by a Yankees pitcher. Anthony Rizzo, his glove outstretched, might remark something like: ¡°Hey, bro, we¡¯re trying to get you.¡±

Rizzo wasn¡¯t offering hints about a pending pickoff play. Aaron Judge had been not so quietly touting Verdugo as a player whom the Yankees should pursue, believing that the outfielder¡¯s left-handed bat, defensive ability and demeanor would play well in the Bronx.

¡°[Judge] told me that he¡¯s been kind of pushing for the last couple of years,¡± Verdugo said Thursday. ¡°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!¡¯

¡°It¡¯s cool to know that some guys have been pushing for me to come over here. They like the way I play and the kind of flair that I bring.¡±

Though it was overshadowed by a blockbuster trade for outfielder Juan Soto, the acquisition of Verdugo was general manager Brian Cashman¡¯s first move of the Winter Meetings in December, marking a rare swap between the Yankees and Red Sox -- just the eighth in the Divisional Era (since 1969).

Verdugo said that he was initially ¡°mad¡± after hearing the Red Sox had shipped him to New York for three right-handed pitchers: Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice. But it was not a total shock, as Verdugo said he had been communicating with Judge through outfielder Willie Calhoun, who played with the Yankees last season.

¡°I¡¯ve been preaching for years that we¡¯ve got to get that guy,¡± Judge said. ¡°He¡¯s a gamer, he¡¯s a competitor. He plays hard. I¡¯ve seen him play through injuries; I know he was a little banged up even last year, he had a couple of things going on. But every single time we played them, he was out there hustling, doing his thing.¡±

Verdugo did not want to say what injuries affected him last year, when he slashed .264/.324/.421 (100 OPS+) with 13 homers and 54 RBIs in 142 games.

¡°I play through [stuff] every year, man,¡± he said. ¡°If I have a bruised heel or my shoulder¡¯s hanging a little bit, I play through it. We work with what we have that day. I try to put forth the best of myself in the circumstances. I push through it.¡±

A fresh start could benefit Verdugo. Red Sox manager Alex Cora benched Verdugo twice last season, once for a perceived lack of hustle and once for reporting late to a home game at Fenway Park.

¡°A.C. was hard on me, but I don¡¯t have any hard feelings toward him,¡± Verdugo said. ¡°Toward the end, I think we ran our course out a little bit. As a person and outside of baseball, I loved him. I loved his kids; his family was awesome. His kids hung out with my kids. He¡¯s a good manager. It¡¯s just we were clashing heads a little bit toward the end. I¡¯m very happy being where I am right now.¡±

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he has spoken with Cora about Verdugo, and he promises to offer a clean slate.

¡°Even though he¡¯s had a good start to his career, I feel like he¡¯s one of those guys that¡¯s kind of scratching the surface,¡± Boone said. ¡°His talent as a hitter, I feel like there¡¯s probably even more in there. He¡¯s going to be an important cog in what we hope is a really good offense.¡±

So far, Verdugo has appeared to be an easy fit in his new surroundings. During Wednesday¡¯s workout, he shared plenty of on-field laughs with Judge, Soto and Giancarlo Stanton in their hitting group.

¡°You see Giancarlo, you see Judge, you see all these guys that we played against,¡± Verdugo said. ¡°Being on the Red Sox, obviously we wanted to beat them, but you still respect what they¡¯ve done in their careers and who they are as people and players.

¡°So to come over here, to know that they wanted me here and be able to talk shop with them and pick their brains, it¡¯s cool. We¡¯ve got some MVPs out here, we¡¯ve got some guys that won some batting titles. It¡¯s a lot of useful knowledge out there, and I¡¯m just trying to soak it all in.¡±