For Alex Verdugo, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top prospect of 2019 who has since played in the postseason for both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, his first experience with MLB free agency was humbling one.
Coming off a year with the Yankees in which he was paid $9.2 million, after earning $6.3 million in 2023, his last of four seasons in Boston, the 28-year-old outfielder certainly expected to sign a contract that would pay him even more.
But that did not happen. Instead, Verdugo went from making the final out in the World Series to unemployed — for almost five months. It was a stunning rejection of a promising hitter who, despite a down year last season still has a serviceable .742 career OPS. His defense is even better, as he has twice leading the American League in outfield assists.
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Last season, Fangraphs gave Verdugo an ARM rating of seven, highest in the major leagues. ARM measures not only whether an outfielder throws out runners on the basepaths, but whether he deters them from attempting to advance.
And yet, Verdugo remained unsigned until there was only one week remaining in spring training — and then all he got was a contract from the Atlanta Braves for $1.5 million and a demotion to Atlanta’s Triple-A minor league affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers.
Verdugo was not the last free agent to be signed. There are still 54 remaining as of Tuesday. But he was the only one under age 29, and one of only two under age 30.
While Verdugo slumped through much of the 2024 season, ending up with an OPS of just .647, the real reason for his prolonged disappointing free agency, according to a report by baseball columnist Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe, may have been “off-field issues.”
“(Red Sox manager) Alex Cora had it right in 2023 when he benched Verdugo after he reported late to a game despite previous warnings about tardiness. Verdugo’s off-field issues also concerned the Yankees, who made no effort to retain him,” Abraham wrote. “The character questions go back to Verdugo’s time as a minor leaguer with the Dodgers when he attended a gathering that led to a teammate being investigated for sexual assault.”
Though neither the teammate nor Verdugo faced any charges in the alleged assault and Verdugo was not named as a suspect, the incident has caused teams to be “wary of Verdugo since,” according to Abraham’s report.
The Braves relegated Verdugo to their minor league system despite the fact that their former NL MVP, Rookie of the Year and four-time All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr. is still recovering from knee surgery and is not expected back in the Atlanta lineup until mid- to late May.
But a new opportunity may have opened up for Verdugo on Monday when Atlanta lost Jurickson Profar. The former San Diego Padres outfielder was the Braves’ biggest offseason free agent signing with a three-year, $42 million contract.
In a shocking development, Profar was suspended for 80 games, for an alleged violation of MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
According to the MLB announcement, Profar tested positive for the PED Chorionic Gonadotropin, or hGC, a fertility drug that increases testosterone production in men and can be used to increase muscle strength.
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Braves reporter Grant McAuley wrote on Monday that Verdugo is now one of several outfielders in the Braves organization under consideration to replace Profar.
“Verdugo’s grit and clutch potential could help the Braves as they seek to replicate Profar’s offensive contributions in his absence,” wrote Athlon Sports scribe Zach Kaplan.
The SB Nation Braves blog Battery Power also raised the possibility of a Verdugo call-up, noting that his “ability to replicate even his 2023 production could now be a boon for the organization.”
Verdugo’s problem, however, is that he missed essentially all of spring training, and needs time to work himself into game-readiness. That means the Braves may be more likely to move Jarred Kelenic back to left field, where he played 75 games for the Braves last year.
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