Outfielder Alex Verdugo crossed enemy lines after the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees agreed to a four-player trade last offseason, giving the centerpiece of the 2020 Mookie Betts deal a fresh start in the Big Apple.
So far, things have not gone well for the clean-shaven, pinstriped Verdugo, whose failure in Boston led the 28-year-old to New York at the worst possible time. Although acquiring Verdugo was not a huge risk, as New York is only under contract for one season – Verdugo will be a free agent after this season – the trade has nevertheless proven to be a failure for the Yankees. With 32 games left in the regular season for New York, the organization has realized that it cannot rely on Verdugo to be its reliable third outfielder alongside All-Stars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
“(I’m) pretty frustrated,” Verdugo said, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “I’m missing a lot of throws that I (expletive) normally hit. I can’t go to left field like I normally do and every time I hit the ball hard and make a good swing, it seems to land right on somebody or somebody makes a play. Right now, we’re carrying it. But like I said, we’ve got the team (expletive) doing their job, intercepting me and at least I’m good defensively. On that side, I’m doing what I can to help the team, but we’ve got to stay positive here, man. It’s a tough battle and it’s one of those things where we’re close. It seems like we’re so far away, but we’re close.”
Verdugo’s hitting issues have been particularly glaring since the MLB All-Star break. He’s posted a disappointing .200/.284/.296 batting average, going 23-of-115 with one home run, nine RBIs and 20 strikeouts in the second half of the season, which Verdugo attributed to a strange allergic reaction caused by his tattoo ink and the material of his batting gloves. Whether faulty batting gloves or not, Verdugo’s offense has only propped up the Yankees — and it hasn’t gotten any better. In August, Verdugo posted a .157/.247/.243 batting average with 11 hits in 70 at-bats, which is not an encouraging sign given that New York is in a division race and has more to prove than any other team in the American League.
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“At the end of the day, we’re winning,” Verdugo said, according to Kuty. “That’s all that matters. Take it as it is, but we’re definitely fighting hard. We’ve never gotten any further in my whole career. Like I said, I try not to think about it too much. We’re winning here and that’s the main thing that matters to me.”
Verdugo doesn’t have much time to pull a last-minute switch, raising the question of how Yankees captain Aaron Boone will use the eight-year veteran when the postseason begins.
