Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins says he’d ‘retire’ before playing for Yankees ahead of first start against them

Boston Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins came with fighting words.

Ahead of his first-ever game against the Yankees, the right-handed Dobbins didn’t hide his disdain for the team in the Bronx.

“If the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire,” Dobbins, 25, told the Boston Herald before his start in Sunday night’s series finale at Yankee Stadium.

Dobbins hails from Bryan, Texas, and while he didn’t grow up rooting for a specific team, his father was a diehard Red Sox fan.

The Red Sox drafted Dobbins in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

“I think whoever I was playing with or whoever I would have been drafted by, I’d still hate the Yankees, so Sunday should be a fun one,” Dobbins told the newspaper. “I’m hoping I hit a career-high in velo or something.”

Dobbins’ comments caught the attention of Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who on Sunday advocated on social media for more trash talk in baseball.

“It adds a little bit of fun,” Chisholm later said in the clubhouse of Dobbins’ remarks. “It adds a lot of spiciness. You enjoy it. You’re even more locked in as a fan because you know what’s going on.”

The situation earned a laugh from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose first reaction to Dobbins’ jab was, “He’s young.”

“I don’t think it’s a dig at our players,” Boone said. “It’s an interesting comment, as a player, to make that. I think it’s just a comment of his love of his team.”

Dobbins made his MLB debut in April and entered Sunday with a 2-1 record and a 4.06 ERA over nine appearances, including seven starts.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he had not spoken to Dobbins about the level of hostility he could expect from Yankees fans after his candid salvo.

“I always said that when they put the mic in front of you, you can’t say whatever you want,” Cora said. “It’s going to be hostile anyway, so he just added a little more, I guess.”

Indeed, the Dobbins drama added fuel to one of baseball’s best rivalries, albeit one that’s become milder in recent years with the Red Sox missing the playoffs each of the last four seasons. Boston entered Sunday with a 31-35 record and was 9.5 games behind the division-leading Yankees.

Cora, who played for six teams during his 14 year MLB career, said Sunday that he wouldn’t choose retirement over playing for any of the 30 teams.

Chisholm shared a similar sentiment.

“I don’t think I would ever say that. I feel like that closes doors,” Chisholm said, before adding of Dobbins’ diss, “But I like it though. I do like it. I like the competitiveness.”

VOLPE RETURNS

Anthony Volpe was back in the Yankees’ starting lineup Sunday, two days after a hit-by-pitch to his left elbow forced him out of Friday’s series opener.

X-rays and a CT scan came back negative for Volpe.

The shortstop entered in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game as a pinch runner and played an inning on defense but did not take an at-bat.

“He didn’t swing at all yesterday, so was hopeful today but not sure,” Boone said before Sunday’s game. “[Volpe] came in a couple of hours ago, feeling a lot better, got his treatment, and then went down and hit … and felt good.”

INFIELD ADDITION

On Sunday, the Yankees claimed infielder CJ Alexander off of waivers from the Athletics, then optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Alexander, 28, made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals last season and appeared in six MLB games with the A’s this year.

The lefty-swinging Alexander is 4-for-25 in his MLB career. In the minors, Alexander owns a career average of .254 with 85 home runs in 1,919 at-bats.

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