There haven't been many trades between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in the teams' history.
Recent trades between them, though, could be punctuated by the addition or subtraction of a beard.
This winter, Alex Verdugo traded in his red shirt and beard for pinstripes and limitations on the number of chains he can wear. Greg Weissert, one of the pitchers Boston received in the deal, is already sporting a full beard. He looks right at home in a Red Sox uniform.
Weissert had one of the better mustaches in the Yankees organization — he was even giving Nestor Cortes a run for his money. His beard is also up near the top of the facial hair pyramid in Boston. Weissert, Connor Wong and Kenley Jansen are rocking the Sox's fullest beards so far this year.
Greg Weissert's beard has earned him comparisons to former Red Sox John Schreiber
The Red Sox broadcast during Weissert's March 26 appearance compared him and his new look to recently traded relief pitcher John Schreiber. The resemblance is there in more ways than one.
The two pitchers are both 6-foot-2 and they look strikingly similar thanks to Weissert's addition of a beard. The two have had ups and downs in their major-league tenures, but Schreiber's sample size of games is far larger than Weissert's. His arsenal also comes stacked with all the same pitches Schreiber uses — both pitchers throw a sweeper, four-seamer, sinker and changeup and Weissert also has a cutter.
Greg Weissert's Frisbee Sweepers. 🥏 pic.twitter.com/mfDXJMRQL4
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2024
Some fans and reporters doubted Weissert's ability to crack Boston's Opening Day roster and Alex Cora has voiced his praise for Isiah Campbell over Weissert in the past. Now, both pitchers will be featured on the Opening Day roster due to injuries plaguing the bullpen, but the spring Weissert put together has crushed much of the uncertainty about his pitching abilities.
Weissert has pitched to a 0.96 ERA over 9.1 innings in the Grapefruit League. The right-hander posted 12 strikeouts to just three walks and he's only allowed six hits. He made his season debut on Saturday and tossed a clean frame with two strikeouts to help keep the Sox in the game before Julio Rodriguez walked them off in extras.
Weissert and Campbell will both nicely fill in Schreiber's vacancy in the 'pen, but the former could make it look like Schreiber never left now that he has the freedom to grow a beard. That was something the Yankees couldn't offer.