Yankees' Alex Verdugo says no hard feelings toward Alex Cora

Alex Verdugo, now with the New York Yankees after being acquired from the Red Sox, insists he has no hard feelings toward Boston manager Alex Cora after twice being benched last year.

Verdugo, a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder, played for Cora for three seasons before a rare trade between the AL East rivals in December.

"It's one of those things that, it's a little bit weird, because outside of the game, he was great. Even as a manager, he's a good manager," Verdugo said Thursday from the Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa, Florida.

"In certain ways, 'AC' was hard on me, but I don't have any hard feelings toward him. It's one of those things. Toward the end, we kind of ran our course out a little bit," Verdugo said. "But as a person and outside of baseball, I loved him. I loved his kids, his family."

Verdugo was first benched by Cora on June 8 for not hustling between first and second base on a grounder a night earlier, and again Aug. 5 for arriving late at the ballpark.