MLB Network is rubbing salt in Red Sox wound with painful Yankees segment

As the Boston Red Sox's world crumbles around them, we're learning more and more details about what led to Alex Cora's undoing in New England. The latest narrative to come out of Boston is that the Red Sox were unhappy with the job Cora and his staff did with player development. That makes a recent MLB Network segment about New York Yankees' budding stars Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler seem like a subtle dig at the Red Sox.

Jon Heyman appeared on MLB Network and spoke about the Yankees' New England area scout, Matt Hyde, who was responsible for unearthing these two gems from Boston's backyard.

"I think Matt Hyde is their secret weapon. He might be their MVP. We're talking about a seventh-rounder [Schlittler] and a 12th-rounder [Rice]. We're talking about two players, not from baseball hotbeds. We're talking about a guy, Schlittler, at Northeastern, now they've obviously had some major leaguers; there are guys who can play there. But not like this guy. Right now, he's leading the American League in WAR. He is fourth in baseball in ERA. He's pitching at at least an All-Star level," Heyman gushed.

Moving on to Rice, the veteran MLB insider said, "Ben Rice, I mean, he's an MVP candidate at this point. He's behind only Yordan Alvarez in the major categories of OPS and slugging. Rice was a 12th-rounder, and Schlittler is a seventh-rounder. I mean, those two are enough to say that Matt Hyde is the Yankees' MVP."

It's well-documented that Schlittler is a Massachusetts kid who has turned into a Red Sox tormentor, though it's lesser known that Rice also grew up in the Boston suburb of Cohasset, Massachusetts. Watching the Yankees swipe these two right out from under their noses and seeing them blossom into stars has to sting for the Red Sox.

Cam Schlittler, Ben Rice are the tip of the iceberg of Yankees owning Red Sox in player development

New York hasn't hit home runs with all their young pieces. Anthony Volpe has been stagnant, and we're awaiting the start of year four for him as he muddles through a rehab assignment. Austin Wells has mostly scuffled at the plate.

But the Yankees have some clear wins. Rice has drawn impressive comparisons and is somehow exceeding even the wildest expectations. Ditto for Schlittler, who is proving to be just as ferocious as the game's greatest aces.

That's not all, though. Will Warren is transforming from a borderline back-of-the-rotation arm to a guy many clubs would dream of having in their rotations. Elmer Rodriguez is making Boston look more and more foolish with each passing day.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have seen the bottom fall out of many players they once thought to be foundational. Jarren Duran has failed to recapture his 2024 magic. Brayan Bello has become a true liability. They extended Kristian Campbell just to almost immediately bury him in the minor leagues.

Roman Anthony has crashed down to earth. Marcelo Mayer has never really launched. The list goes on and on. For Boston, this is a real problem. The organization intentionally cut spending and took a step back to build through their farm system, and they haven't been able to develop what was once thought to be a wealth of young talent.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have taken these unheralded chips and polished them up. The draft positions of Schlittler and Rice didn't foreshadow either amounting to much of anything, yet here we are. There could be more on the horizon, too. If Carlos Lagrange capitalizes on his mind-boggling potential, the Yankees will have a true weapon, one that they signed out of the Dominican Republic as an afterthought for just $10,000.

New York has used these young stars as a means to augment their core, though in some cases they've leapfrogged the high-priced veterans ahead of them. To that end, they've been more successful than the Red Sox at their own game. But what stings the most for Boston is seeing two hometown kids bloom, knowing full well that they were sitting in the shadows of Fenway for years.

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