Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz saying something positive about the New York Yankees, especially while sitting alongside Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter on the Fox Sports panel, is a very rare occurrence.
Despite being retired, the rivalry between the two teams remains real. However, Ortiz praised the Yankees on Tuesday night and shared his thoughts on the team ahead of the second half of the MLB season, urging them to be aggressive at the upcoming trade deadline.
Ortiz Praises Yankees
Ortiz said that the Yankees, when healthy, have the best pitching staff in MLB and added that if they “take advantage” of the trade deadline, they have a team that can “go back on the horse and start whooping everybody.”
“I hate to say this, but the Yankees are the team that has the best pitching in the whole league,” Ortiz said next to Rodriguez and Jeter. “They need to take advantage of the trading line now towards the end of the month so they can go back on the horse and start whooping everybody because they got the tools. They got the team.
“Their big man [Judge] went down and they started struggling, but they have the type of team that if they put it together, they can go back out there and look like when you guys used to play.”
😲 @DavidOrtiz with kind words about the Yankees??
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/N7uhKienZw
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 14, 2026
Rodriguez & Jeter Share Hilarious Reaction
Praising the Yankees was so unexpected coming from Ortiz that both Rodriguez and Jeter were caught off guard and had to ask if he was alright.
“Are you working with the Yankees now?” Rodriguez jokingly said.
Ortiz responded, “No, I’m just being honest,” which prompted a follow-up question from Jeter.
“Hold on, now I got a serious question,” he said. “Are you alright?”
Yankees 2nd Half Outlook
New York dealt with the injury bug throughout June and into July, but despite some struggles, the Yankees weathered the storm and enter the second half of the season with a 54-42 record. They sit second in the AL East, three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Yankees will return to action Friday night in the Bronx when they begin a weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As of now, the team will begin the second half without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and several others on the injured list.
That said, there remains hope that Judge could return soon, depending on the results of his upcoming scans. If they come back clean and show improvement, the Yankees could get their superstar back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Red Sox Legend David Ortiz Makes Rare Statement About Yankees appeared first on HEAVY.