With just under two weeks until Opening Day, former Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo remains a free agent. The former centerpiece of the 2020 trade that sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers hit 281/.338/.424 with 43 home runs and 206 RBI in four seasons with the Red Sox. But things didn’t go as well when he signed with the New York Yankees last offseason.
After his lowest full-season OPS of his career (.647) and hitting just .208/.309/.313 during the Yankees’ run to the World Series, Verdugo hit the market this winter. But not even the most bitter Red Sox fan could imagine how his offseason has unfolded.
Alex Verdugo Reportedly Hasn’t Received A Single Offer This Offseason
According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Verdugo hasn’t received a single major league offer since becoming a free agent last winter. Kuty also adds that several Yankees are perplexed over the fact he is still available including his former manager Aaron Boone.
“Maybe a little bit surprised because he’s without question a big-league player and a big-league starting player for me,” Boone said. “It probably hasn’t lined up money-wise and team-wise and need-wise, but he was great with us.”
Verdugo’s stay in the Bronx was short-term due to the Yankees outfield situation. Top prospect Jasson Dominguez slated to replace Verdugo in left field next season with Aaron Judge in right field and offseason trade addition Cody Bellinger in center field.
But even if New York wasn’t interested, there are several reasons why Verdugo made sense for other teams. His defense remains one of the best in the game, logging seven defensive runs saved last season and Verdugo continues to have encouraging peripherals at the plate according to Baseball Savant including a 33.4% squared up rate (96th percentile), 25.5% chase rate (70th percentile) and 15.5% whiff rate (93rd percentile).
You could counter by bringing up Verdugo’s average exit velocity of 88.3 mph (32nd percentile) or his 68.4 mph bat speed (11th percentile), which was tracked for the first time last season. He also threw shade at Alex Cora on his way out of Boston criticizing his decision to bench him on multiple occasions including an incident when he arrived late to a game in Aug. 2023.
Those comments drew the ire of former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon who called Verdugo “a b—” during an appearance on Foul Territory in January 2024.
“I do know one thing, I don’t want him on my team,” Papelbon said. “I don’t want somebody who shows up late every day, who doesn’t care, that really plays for himself. Can that work in New York? Yeah it can work.”
Even though he continued to rip the Red Sox culture last season, it’s curious that nobody wants Verdugo. The Miami Marlins are starting Kyle Stowers in left field. The Chicago White Sox are starting Travis Jankowski. The Colorado Rockies are starting Nolan Jones after he fell off a cliff last year. There are other teams that could use him but may scoff at his $8.7 million salary one year ago, underlining one of baseball’s biggest problems.
Perhaps the off-the-field antics caught up with Verdugo. But after drawing positive reviews in New York, it’s one of the most curious storylines heading into the season.
