One of the most unusual stories of the recent offseason was the sad saga of Alex Verdugo, the 29-year-old outfielder who was once the top prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. After a single season with the New York Yankees, Verdugo entered free agency â and found no takers.
Until, that is, there was just one week to go before Opening Day, when the Atlanta Braves came calling. Now, after appearing in just 56 games, Verdugo’s Braves tenure is over and he is without a team once again.
The Braves designated Verdugo for assignment on Tuesday. On Saturday, according to David O’Brien, Braves beat writer for The Athletic, Verdugo cleared waivers without being claimed by any team. The Braves then released him outright.
Accused of Lacking Hustle
How Verdugo reached his latest low point is an eventful story. As the Dodgers No. 1 prospect, he highlighted the trade package sent to the Boston Red Sox in February of 2020 for Mookie Betts, who won the American League MVP just two years earlier. After a good start with Boston, helping to propel the Red Sox to a surprising playoff run in 2021 that took them to the AL Championship Series, things went downhill for Verdugo there.
Not only did his performance decline, he came into conflict with manager Alex Cora who repeatedly benched him for a lack of hustle. After the 2023 season, the Red Sox traded him to their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, who gave him a $9.2 million contract in his final year of arbitration eligibility.
But Verdugo failed to produce, finishing with a career-low .647 OPS and again found himself facing accusations that he frequently failed to hustle on plays â though Yankees manager Aaron Boone, unlike Cora, publicly defended him.
The Yankees, however, showed how they really felt about Verdugo when they let him go to free agency without even a token attempt to re-sign him.
The Braves finally gave Verdugo a $1.5 million deal â a significant reduction from his previous earnings â and required him to start the season in the minor leagues. But when Jurickson Profar, Atlanta’s major offseason free agent signing at three years and $42 million, was slapped with an 80-game suspension for alleged performance-enhancing drug use, it became clear that the Braves would need Verdugo.
Insider Says Verdugo Should Get Another Chance at MLB
He was called up on April 18, but once again squandered his opportunity. Verdugo recorded only 47 hits, just 10 for extra bases, in 213 plate appearances. He failed to hit a single home run. When Profar returned from his suspension on Tuesday, the Braves DFA’d Verdugo, then cut ties with him completely.
What next for this player whose career early on showed tremendous promise? According to longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Verdugo’s next stop could come in San Diego.
“He still should get more chances, but he also should have taken the Pirates up on their winter offer (word is, they would have given him $8 million, money eventually split between Andrew Heaney and Tommy Pham),” Heyman wrote, referring to reports this spring that Pittsburgh “floated” that sum to Verdugo, but never made a formal offer.
“The Padres seek a left fielder so Verdugo could fit there,” Heyman concluded in his Friday column.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees $9 Million Reject Now Without MLB Team Again After Braves Cut Ties appeared first on Heavy Sports.