The MLB season may have officially started this morning, but it appears the offseason still has some crumbs left over. There are still several free agents ripe for the picking if any MLB organization wants to sign them.
Most notably, Alex Verdugo remains unsigned. Just a season ago, Verdugo was the everyday left fielder for a New York Yankees that reached the World Series. He wasn’t bad in the World Series either, recording five RBI and a home run in the series, even though the Yankees lost. Yet, despite that success, MLB teams seem mostly uninterested in signing him.
The disinterest in Verdugo is interesting to say the least. According to the report, many of Verdugo’s former Yankees teammates spoke highly of him, including Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Marcus Stroman and Trent Grisham. So, what is keeping teams from picking him up?
Has Verdugo received any interest?
Although Verdugo has supposedly received interest from teams this offseason, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros, none have given him an official offer.
Each of those teams opted for other outfield options instead, with the Pirates brining on Tommy Pham via a one-year, $4.05 million deal, about half as much per year as Verdugo likely would’ve cost them. Houston signed Ben Gamel to a one-year, $1.2 million deal. The Angels are the only team that didn’t make such a move, but it appears they never followed up on their initial interest.
Did Verdugo have a bad 2024?
In 2024, Verdugo posted a suboptimal 83 OPS+, the first time he’d dropped below 100 since 2018. It was far and away his worst season of the 2020s, with his OPS dropping nearly 100 points between 2023 and 2024 (.745 to .647).
Still, despite Verdugo’s struggles, he still has a lot going for him. For one, he’s still more than a year away from his 30th birthday. He’s in the middle of his prime and could certainly bounce back.
Second, he’s still a great fielder. While probably not an option in center field, as a corner outfielder, Verdugo ranked in the 77th percentile among major leaguers in range. He was among the top ten percent in both arm value and arm strength as well, per Baseball Savant.
Third, he’s healthy. Verdugo hasn’t played in fewer than 140 games since 2019. Sure, he’s experienced minor injuries that have kept him out for short stints, but he’s been a pretty reliable player in terms of actually being available. That, combined with his solid defense should be more than enough to get him a deal.