A year ago, Alex Verdugo was slated to be the Yankees‘ everyday left fielder in a walk year, hoping to provide steady defense and a solid bottom-of-the-order bat. After a strong start to his 2024 season, he quickly tapered off and had a career-worst season where he posted an 83 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR, leaving him without a job as he rolled into the new year.
The Athletic reported earlier this week that he had yet to receive an MLB offer, but the Atlanta Braves quickly changed that as the team inked him to a one-year $1.5 million contract. Given their outfield depth, the team could use a solid corner outfield defender who can play off the bench, and for Verdugo, this would be a strong spot to rebuild his value and work on his swing.
Atlanta is known for being a strong organization on the player development side, and this could be the place where the 28-year-old outfielder goes back to being an above-average bat. Whether he’ll be ready for Opening Day or not remains to be seen given the fact that he missed most of Spring Training waiting for an opportunity to sign somewhere.
Alex Verdugo Signs With Braves After Underwhelming Season With the Yankees
The Yankees didn’t get what they hoped for when they initially acquired Alex Verdugo, who wasn’t much of an offensive threat despite strong defense in left field. While his tenure in New York was one to forget individually, he did start for a team that made it to the World Series, and he’ll be right back on a team that can contend for a title with the Braves.
Traded for Mookie Betts by the Dodgers, he just missed their World Series run in 2020, but if he was still there LA may never have built themselves up into the contenders they’ve been over the last five years. With a career 101 wRC+, the Braves are banking on Verdugo being the hitter his career numbers suggest he is, but deep down they’re really hoping to unlock the upside we’ve seen in flashes at his best.
In his first season with the Red Sox in 2020, he posted a 125 wRC+ and .367 OBP across 53 games, and from 2019-2022 he had a 108 wRC+ and .343 OBP.
READ MORE: Yankees receive positive news on injured pitcher ramping up
Right now the Braves have a potent lineup coming off of a down year roster-wide, and the addition of Alex Verdugo provides them with another young outfield bat with upside. He could present an upgrade over Jarred Kelenic, who posted a mere 86 wRC+ this past season and struck out in 29.6% of his plate appearances. His -3 OAA and -3 DRS in the outfield make him a below-average glove as well, whereas Verdugo is a strong defensive outfielder in the corner outfield.
With a career 110 wRC+ against RHP, the Braves could utilize Alex Verdugo as a platoon hitter, similar to how they were planning to use Jarred Kelenic, and that might be an upgrade for the bottom of their lineup. The Braves had -7 DRS and -6 OAA as an outfield last season, and with Ronald Acuna Jr. expected to be back at some point in 2025, the thought would be that they can have him start in RF once he’s healthy and use their current outfield kerfuffle as depth, with MiLB options on both Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz they can utilize if either player is performing poorly.