Throughout their history the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have rarely done business together, and why would they? As two of the fiercest rivals in professional sports the clubs have always striven to beat the other, so there’s rarely been an incentive to do anything that might help give the other an edge.

That’s a big part of why the clubs have only swung seven trades with each other since 1969, according to MLB.com, but this offseason there may be a deal on the table so tantalizing it could be hard for either side to pass up.

According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox have identified Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres as a potential trade target and that the Yankees are interested in Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo. Whether any extensive discussions between new Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his Yankees counterpart Brian Cashman have taken place is unclear, but a swap would make a lot of sense for a variety of reasons.

From the Red Sox perspective, swapping Verdugo for Torres would be an efficient way to address multiple issues. One of Boston’s biggest needs this offseason is a right-handed bat, and Torres is coming off a strong season in which he hit 25 home runs, posted an .800 OPS and stole 13 bases.

Though not a great defender, Torres would still represent an upgrade at second base over what Boston has now, and he also played 158 of 162 games last season. That means Torres could give Boston a level of reliability and production at the position it lacked all of 2023.

Beyond his fit on the field, the 26-year-old Torres is also entering his final year of arbitration and like Verdugo will hit free agency after this coming season. That timeline works perfectly for the Red Sox, who would prefer to avoid any long-term commitments at the position with top prospect Marcelo Mayer expected to reach the majors by late next season.

Torres is projected to earn more this coming season ($15.3 million, per MLB Trade Rumors’ projections) than Verdugo ($9.2 million), but that difference shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for a club as well-resourced as the Red Sox.

As for Verdugo, moving the 27-year-old would clear up Boston’s logjam in the outfield, which right now also includes Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran and rookies Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, while also giving the Yankees outfield some badly needed stability.

Earlier this week Cashman told reporters that the Yankees are looking to add two outfielders, preferably left-handed, to line up alongside Aaron Judge next season. The lefty-hitting Verdugo would seem a natural fit, offering both Gold Glove-caliber defense and a proven track record of success at the big league level.

Last season Verdugo batted .264 with 13 home runs, 37 doubles and a .745 OPS, and for much of the season he was arguably among the most productive outfielders in the American League. He batted .290 with an .817 OPS prior to the All-Star Break, but his performance tailed off down the stretch and he batted just .178 from September onwards.

The idea of Verdugo lining up in left field at Yankee Stadium is admittedly somewhat fraught given that a couple of years ago a fan threw a baseball onto the field and hit Verdugo in the back, resulting in an ugly incident that prompted Alex Cora to pull the Red Sox off the field. But should a deal come to fruition you’d think that would be water under the bridge, and presumably Verdugo would be treated much better if he returned to the Bronx wearing pinstripes instead of a Red Sox uniform.

So, will it happen? A Verdugo for Torres deal would represent the most significant trade between the Red Sox and Yankees since swapping designated hitters Don Baylor and Mike Easler in 1986, but after finishing at the bottom of the AL East this past season both clubs have made it clear they plan to improve by any means necessary.

Even if that means doing business with their biggest rival? We’ll have to see.