Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo missed out on a chance to sign with a National League club this offseason in the most ironic way.
Verdugo, a current free-agent outfielder, still hasn’t signed while teams across the league have already begun spring training. He spent last season with the New York Yankees, falling short in the World Series and failing to take his long-awaited step forward as a big-league hitter. Yet, the Pittsburgh Pirates still expressed interest in making Verdugo an offer until the organization found someone else.
Pittsburgh considered offering Verdugo an $8 million contract, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Then, the front office pivoted and finalized a one-year, $4.25 million agreement with fellow ex-Red Sox outfielder Tommy Pham instead. That might’ve been Verdugo’s greatest chance to join a team up to this point, as the offseason buzz surrounding the 28-year-old has been dead silent.
Verdugo batted .233 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs across 149 games with the Yankees, failing to find his stride at the plate — yet again. When Verdugo’s hitting slump became its most noticeable, the eight-year veteran attributed the struggles to an allergic infection caused by his tattoo ink and batting gloves. True? Who knows. But was it good enough for the Yankees to offer Verdugo a leniency pass and re-sign him for another year in the Big Apple? Absolutely not.
Nothing changed once the Yankees embarked on their postseason hunt, and those campaigning for rookie Jasson Domínguez to replace Verdugo only got louder. Verdugo slashed .208/.309/.313 in the playoffs and struck out eight times, including for the final out to help the Los Angeles Dodgers seize the Fall Classic crown.
The immaturity and lack of growth have haunted Verdugo — and any MLB team he’s played for — for years now. Boston once thought of Verdugo as the franchise’s future right fielder and instead snagged a major win in parting ways with him last offseason. New York figured a change of scenery might’ve brought out a version of Verdugo we haven’t seen before, but even the incentive of having a secured roster spot wasn’t enough.
It’s hard to imagine a team offering anything above a one-year deal moving forward as Verdugo returns to square one in his latest attempt to rebuild his value. Failing to produce while also failing to act the part of a professional doesn’t usually bode well, especially for players with minimal leeway in the open market.
Pham, now 11 seasons into his big-league career, remains what he was three years ago during his 53-game run with the Red Sox — a veteran leader. That makes Pham, 37, not only a cheaper option than Verdugo but also a more useful one. Pham doesn’t need to play 150-plus games to prove himself because teams already know what he brings to the table. The same can’t be said for Verdugo, the scratch ticket free agent.
