The New York Yankees made the decision to move on from outfielder Alex Verdugo this offseason. In his place, the Yankees appear to be going with an outfield of Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, and Jasson Dominguez. The Bronx Bombers also have top prospects Spencer Jones and Everson Pereira waiting in the wings.
But Verdugo remains a free agent, to the surprise of many. Spotrac projected him to sign a four-year, $60 million deal in free agency, but he hasn’t signed any deal yet.
Brendan Kuty of The Athletic recently reported that Verdugo isn’t just a free agent by choice. Kuty revealed Verdugo hadn’t received a single major-league contract offer this offseason.
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“Last season, Verdugo made $8.7 million. A league source told The Athletic that the 28-year-old hasn’t received a single major-league offer since becoming a free agent,” Kuty wrote. “Verdugo had a down season offensively in 2024 but was reliable on defense and quickly became a key component of the Yankees’ clubhouse, according to teammates.”
While it’s true Verdugo had a down year offensively in 2024, he’s not one of the worst big leaguers around, so it’s pretty head-scratching to find out he hasn’t received a single offer.
Last year was the first time since 2018 that Verdugo posted an OPS+ below 100. His WAR, though down from 2.7 in 2023, was above 0.0.
At some point in time, some team is going to take a chance on Verdugo. Whether it be a one year deal worth around $8 million to $10 million or a contract with a club option. The 28-year-old is better than a lot of rostered players and it doesn’t make sense that he sits in free agency now.
Who knows? Maybe the Yankees will be the team to scoop him up.
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