With so much roster turnover in recent years, the Red Sox are no stranger to welcoming back former players.

Few returns, however, have been as intriguing as Alex Verdugo’s this weekend.

“Special, weird day for me,” Verdugo said as he stood outside the visitor’s clubhouse on Friday afternoon. “The first few days, I was upset, didn’t really take it the best but… I feel like this trade happened for a reason and looking back at it, it was better for me.”

The outfielder has been in the Boston spotlight ever since he arrived in February 2020 as the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade, this century’s equivalent of the Babe Ruth debacle. Now, Verdugo is back in Boston for the first time, clean-shaven and wearing the pinstripes of the Red Sox’s greatest rivals, and trades with the New York Yankees are extremely rare.

There were also his issues with his then-manager, Alex Cora, which included two benchings last season, one for lack of hustle, the other for lateness.

Before the series opener, Cora attempted to take the diplomatic route as he fielded various Verdugo-related questions.

“I think people are like, making too much of nothing, to be honest with you,” the Red Sox manager said. “He’s a good player and a player that got traded, we got three good pitchers. That’s the business of it.”

“I know they were looking for Dugie for a while, there’s no secret. Booney has talked to me about him for a while,” Cora said, referring to Yankees manager – and 2003 Red Sox enemy – Aaron Boone. “I think Dugie fits their program.”

“We got three good pitchers,” Cora reiterated of the early-December trade, which brought reliever Greig Weissert and minor leaguers Richard Fitts (Triple-A) and Nicholas Judice (Low-A) to Boston. “And I think where we were as an organization, we were trying to maximize his value, and I think we killed it.

“It opened the door for us to play other guys. And we had TO (Tyler O’Neill), (Wilyer) Abreu, Jarren (Duran), (Ceddanne) Rafaela, so I think where we were roster-wise and the plan that we had going into the season, yeah, it was the right time.”

Cora and Verdugo both said Friday that their relationship issues have been blown out of proportion.

“I feel like for me and him it’s like, we’re fine. We’re good. I’ve said it before, I think our families like each other, our kids like each other, I think off the field, we have no problems at all,” Verdugo said.

“I got nothing but respect for AC and hope him the best,” Verdugo continued. “I’m a little tired of talking about AC… We’re still friends. Media and people want to blow it up however you guys want to blow it up.”

“We have a good relationship. It just happened that, you know, last year became public. And you know, I don’t understand what the big deal is,” Cora said. “We’re not here to criticize players or celebrate players. When they’re showing up on time or they don’t show up on time. It just happened that, that day I felt he was late, and I took him out of the lineup. That’s it. I think that’s the big deal here, but it should not be that big of a deal.”

However, the Sox skipper made it a point to say that they were already clashing behind the scenes before certain incidents came to light last season.

“Even before, you know, like things that you guys didn’t know about,” Cora said.

He also alluded to some of the reasons there had been friction during Verdugo’s time in Boston, when he praised the outfielder.

“Maybe he made some adjustments and certain things. I read that now he’s staying after games and working out, all that stuff,” Cora said. “Maybe – I mean – (Aaron) Judge is a dude, you know, in this league, and he’s the captain of the New York Yankees, so probably when he talks, people listen, right? And good for Dugie that he’s following their lead.”

“I had fun, and I really enjoyed the team, I really enjoyed the fans, I thought they got behind me, they liked the way I played, and it was all good,” Verdugo said.

“The Yankees have been awesome, and we’ve been playing good ball, so that makes everything better,” he added, somewhat pointedly. “I’m just able to be myself. … I think they just really like the energy I bring and kind of like, I’m just – I’m 100% me.”

Asked how he thought he’d be received at Fenway, Verdugo replied, “Like a Yankee.”

Cora didn’t give the impression that he’s champing at the bit for a reunion.

“Um, I mean, I’ll be out there, right, during BP,” he said, in response to a question about whether the two would find time to catch up this weekend.

In other words, ‘He knows where to find me.’

And when asked if they’d kept in touch since the trade, Cora’s one-word answer spoke volumes:

“No.”