The Boston Red Sox have had a recent habit of taking former bitter rivals — New York Yankees players — and turning them into key players on their team. Rob Refsnyder is a shining example of their success.
The Yankees drafted Refsnyder, a former College World Series MVP with the University of Arizona, in the the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut three years later, but he only lasted two and a half seasons in New York before he was traded to the Blue Jays.
The outfielder bounced around MLB and posted stints with the Twins, Rays and Rangers before he came to the Red Sox in 2022. He was a career .224/.310/.308 hitter and never played more than 58 games in a season before he debuted in Boston, where he's reached his career peak beginning at age 31.
Refsnyder was a free agent this winter before he signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners on December 22. Before the signing, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that a reunion between the two parties was seen as unlikely, and he even noted his surprise that Boston may not bring him back (subscription required).
Red Sox failed to reunite with Rob Refsnyder, but at least the Yankees didn't get to, either
Refsnyder batted .276/.364/.440 with an .804 OPS over his four seasons (309 games) with the Red Sox. He's incredibly well-suited to their heavily left-handed batting order, as he specializes in hitting lefty pitching — he slashed .302/.399/.560 with a .959 OPS and seven home runs in 138 plate appearances against southpaws last season.
It seems like the Red Sox are comfortable with Romy Gonzalez as their lefty specialist, as he batted .331/.378/.600 with a .978 OPS against left handers in 2025. Boston has also said that Wilyer Abreu has "earned the right" to face more lefty arms in the future as he develops as a hitter, so it didn't see a need Refsnyder as often in the outfield.
The Yankees are in the market for an outfielder, and they won't get to redeem themselves with the new-look Refsnyder. They hope to re-sign Cody Bellinger, but they aren't the only team in his market. It would've stung to see Refsnyder return to New York, where his career began, armed with the Red Sox's hitting advice and hard work that helped him really kick-start his career.
The Red Sox have recently become known for shortchanging free agents, and while there hasn't been any reports that's what happened with Refsnyder, it's easy to imagine that they didn't want to meet his asking price before he enters his age-35 season. Refsnyder issued an emotional goodbye message to the Red Sox organization, which could've easily re-signed him to supplement its left-hand dominant batting order.