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Alex Verdugo

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Alex Verdugo
Verdugo with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019
Free agent
Outfielder
Born: (1996-05-15) May 15, 1996 (age 28)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 1, 2017, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.272
Home runs70
Runs batted in316
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Mexico
World Baseball Classic
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Miami Team

Alexander Brady Verdugo (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

The Dodgers selected Verdugo in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2017, was traded to the Red Sox after the 2019 season, and was traded to the Yankees prior to the 2024 season. In 2017, Verdugo committed to represent the Mexican national team and was later called up for the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics.[1][2]

Early life

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Verdugo's father, Joe, is from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.[3] His mother, Shelly, is from Minnesota. Verdugo attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Arizona.[4]

Professional career

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Minor leagues

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Verdugo in the second round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Dodgers, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Arizona State University.[5] In 49 games for the Arizona League Dodgers, he hit .347 and was awarded with post-season Arizona League All-Star honors and Baseball America Rookie league all-star honors. He was assigned to the Class-A Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League to start 2015.[6] He was selected to the post-season all-star team[7] after he hit .295 in 101 games.[8] Verdugo also received a late season promotion to the Advanced-Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League[9] where he played in 23 games and hit .385.[8] He also hit for the cycle in a game against the Lancaster JetHawks on August 27.[10] He was named the organization's minor league player of the year.[11]

To start the 2016 season, Verdugo was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League,[12] where he was selected as a starter for the mid-season all-star game[13] and named to the post-season all-star team.[14] He had a .273 batting average in 126 games for the Drillers and hit 13 home runs with 63 RBIs.[8] He was assigned to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League at the conclusion of the season, and batted .140/.213/.233. Verdugo also played for the Mexico national baseball team in an exhibition series in Japan in November[15] and in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[16] He began 2017 with the Oklahoma City Dodgers and was named as a starter for the mid-season Pacific Coast League all-star team[17] and chosen to represent the world team at the All-Star Futures Game.[18] In 117 games for Oklahoma City, he hit .314.[8]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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Verdugo was promoted to the majors for the first time on September 1, 2017.[19] He made his MLB debut as the starting center fielder that night against the San Diego Padres and was hitless in three at-bats with 30 walks.[20] His first MLB hit was a single off of Clayton Richard of the Padres on September 2.[21] He hit his first major league home run on September 10 off of Adam Ottavino of the Colorado Rockies.[22] Verdugo was kept off the playoff roster that lost to the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series. He played in 15 games for the Dodgers in 2017 and had four hits in 23 at-bats, batting .174/.240/.304.[23]

In 2018, he was selected to represent the Pacific Coast League at the Triple-A All-Star Game[24] and was also selected to the post-season all-star team.[25] He appeared in 37 games for the Dodgers, hitting .260[23] while spending most of the season with Oklahoma City, where he hit .329.[8]

On March 23, 2019, Verdugo was announced as a member of the 2019 Dodgers opening day roster.[26] He appeared in 106 games for the Dodgers, with a .294 batting average, 27 home runs and 44 RBIs.[23] He played center field while A. J. Pollock was out with an injury[27] but lost playing time when Pollock returned.[28] Verdugo went on the injured list on August 6 with an oblique strain and later came down with a back injury during a rehab assignment.[29] The injury kept him out the rest of the season and the playoffs.[30]

Boston Red Sox

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On February 10, 2020, the Dodgers traded Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts, David Price, and cash considerations.[31] During the start-delayed 2020 season, he was a regular corner outfielder for Boston, appearing in 22 games in left field and 31 games in right field.[23] Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Verdugo batted .308 with six home runs and 15 RBIs in 53 games.[23] Of all qualified major league outfielders, Verdugo had the lowest fielding percentage, at .959.[32]

Verdugo began the 2021 season as a regular member of Boston's outfield, playing all three positions. He was placed on the paternity list on August 8, and returned to the team on August 13.[33] He played in 146 regular-season games for Boston, batting .289 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs.[23] He also played in 11 postseason games, batting 13-for-42 (.310) as the Red Sox advanced to the American League Championship Series.[23] Late in the season, Verdugo expressed his desire to become a two-way player, saying that he wanted to not be "Shohei Ohtani where he is starting and all that" but that he wanted to be a two-way player by the 2023 season.[34] Beginning in 2021, Verdugo started experiencing blistering, bleeding, scabbing and pain in his hands.[35]

Verdugo returned as a corner outfielder for Boston during 2022, appearing in 150 games in the outfield and two at designated hitter.[23] He batted .280 with 11 home runs and 74 RBIs.[23] At the end of the regular season, Red Sox manager Alex Cora highlighted Verdugo as a player who could improve for 2023, stating, “Yeah, he hit for average, but he can be a lot better baserunning, defensively."[36]

On January 13, 2023, the Red Sox and Verdugo reached agreement on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.[37] He batted .303 with five home runs and 31 RBIs through June 22, when he was placed on the bereavement list.[38] He returned to the team on June 27.[39]

New York Yankees

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Verdugo with the Yankees in 2024

On December 5, 2023, the Red Sox traded Verdugo to the New York Yankees for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice.[40][41]

After struggling to start the 2024 season and continuing to experience the skin issues and pain which had been present in his hands since 2021, Verdugo submitted to an allergy test during the All-Star break. It was determined that he was allergic to the cobalt and chromate in his batting gloves.[35]

Personal life

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Verdugo has a son who was born in Los Angeles in August 2021.[42] He also has a daughter who was born in Spring 2024.

References

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  1. ^ "Tucson-Native and Sahuaro Alumnus Alex Verdugo Providing an "Edge" for Los Angeles Dodgers". Sports360AZ. May 5, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ^ Felt, Hunter (March 18, 2023). "Puerto Rico 4-5 Mexico: World Baseball Classic quarter-finals – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Gallegos, Martín (October 18, 2021). "Alex Verdugo on his Mexican American roots". MLB.com. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Morales, Javier (February 10, 2020). "Support From Alex Verdugo's Parents Nurtured Him From Sahuaro High School to Baseball Headliner as Part of Blockbuster Trade | ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com".
  5. ^ "Alex Verdugo Class of 2014 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Perfect Game.
  6. ^ Bernreuter, Hugh (April 6, 2015). "Los Angeles Dodgers send top draft picks Grant Holmes, Alex Verdugo to Great Lakes Loons". Mlive.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  7. ^ Dykstra, Sam (August 24, 2015). "McBroom, Torres highlight MWL All-Stars". milb.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Alex Verdugo Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  9. ^ Morales, Andy (August 15, 2015). "Dodgers promote Alex Verdugo to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes". Allsportstucson.com. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. ^ Rosenbaum, Mike (August 27, 2015). "Verdugo hits for the cycle for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga". mlb.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Stephen, Eric (October 1, 2015). "Alex Verdugo, Zach Lee named Dodgers 2015 minor league player, pitcher of year". SB Nation. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  12. ^ Lewis, Barry (April 4, 2016). "Drillers' roster set for season opener". Tulsaworld.com. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Stephen, Eric (June 14, 2016). "Alex Verdugo, Willie Calhoun among 9 Texas League All-Stars for Double-A Tulsa". SB Nation. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  14. ^ Stephen, Eric (August 31, 2016). "Chase De Jong named Texas League Pitcher of the Year". SB Nation. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  15. ^ Stephen, Eric (November 5, 2016). "Alex Verdugo to join Team Mexico for exhibition in Japan". SB Nation. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  16. ^ Osborne, Cary (February 8, 2017). "Dodgers cover the globe with World Baseball Classic roster announcements". dodgers.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  17. ^ Stephen, Eric (June 28, 2017). "Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo lead 4 Oklahoma City All-Stars". SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  18. ^ BA Staff (June 29, 2017). "2017 World Futures Game Rosters And Scouting Reports". Baseball America. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  19. ^ McCullough, Andy (August 31, 2017). "Dodgers to promote Alex Verdugo, leave Joc Pederson in the minors". LA Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "Dodgers 1, Padres 0". mlb.com. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  21. ^ "Padres 6, Dodgers 5". mlb.com. September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  22. ^ Hoornstra, J.P. (September 10, 2017). "First career home run boosts Alex Verdugo's confidence". Orange County Register. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Alex Verdugo Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  24. ^ Jourdan, Cameron (June 28, 2018). "Four OKC Dodgers selected for Triple-A All-Star Game". newsok. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  25. ^ Pacific Coast League (August 27, 2018). "2018 All-Pacific Coast League team announced". Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  26. ^ Gurnick, Ken (March 23, 2019). "Verdugo, Urias ready to impact big league club". MLB.com.
  27. ^ Digiovanna, Mike (June 7, 2019). "Dave Roberts: When A.J. Pollock returns to Dodgers, 'he's gonna play'". LA Times. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  28. ^ Plunkett, Bill (July 14, 2019). "A.J. Pollock's return means squeeze for playing time in Dodgers outfield". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  29. ^ Castillo, Jorge (September 10, 2019). "Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo's lingering injury opens door for Edwin Rios". LA Times. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  30. ^ Digiovanna, Mike (September 17, 2019). "Dodgers' Alex Verdugo will miss NLDS because of back injury". LA Times. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  31. ^ Gurnick, Ken (February 10, 2020). "Mookie Betts is officially on his way to LA". MLB.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  32. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2020 » Outfielders » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
  33. ^ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. Boston Red Sox. August 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  34. ^ Roche, Conor (October 8, 2021). "Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo shares desire to pitch, too". Boston.com.
  35. ^ a b Miller, Randy (August 16, 2024). "Yankees' Alex Verdugo is allergic to his batting gloves, doctor says. Could it be causing his struggles?". NJ.com. NJ Advance Media. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  36. ^ Cotillo, Chris (October 5, 2022). "Red Sox's Alex Cora: Alex Verdugo is the player who needs to take the biggest leap in 2023". masslive.com. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via MSN.com.
  37. ^ McWilliams, Julian (January 13, 2023). "Red Sox agree on contracts with their remaining five arbitration-eligibles". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  38. ^ "Red Sox put Alex Verdugo on bereavement list". ESPN.com. June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  39. ^ "Red Sox's Alex Verdugo: Returns to action". CBS Sports. June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  40. ^ "Red Sox trade Alex Verdugo to Yankees for three pitchers". ESPN.com. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  41. ^ "Alex Verdugo trade: Yankees acquire outfielder from Red Sox in rare swap between AL East rivals". CBSSports.com. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  42. ^ Ciccotelli, Jenna (August 10, 2021). "Alex Verdugo Arrived Five Minutes Before Birth Of Child After Leaving Red Sox". NESN. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
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