Despite the Yankees having a short right porch at Yankee Stadium that heavily favors left-handed hitters, 28-year-old Alex Verdugo hasn’t hit a home run since June 6. In that same period, he has only collected eight extra-base hits, causing his slugging percentage to plummet to .359 this season—a career low.
The Yankees Need More From Verdugo
According to the metrics, Verdugo is performing 18% worse than the average MLB player with an 82 wRC+. He has posted 10 home runs, 53 RBIs, a .230 batting average, and a .290 OBP. These numbers have significant implications for the veteran outfielder, who is putting up a disappointing season, which in turn is negatively impacting the Yankees’ offense.
Aaron Boone’s Continued Faith in Verdugo
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic spoke to Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Wednesday before Game 2 of a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians, asking about Verdugo’s struggles and Boone’s commitment to him. Boone responded with his usual confidence in his player despite Verdugo’s poor performance since June 1, during which he has hit just .210/.268/.304.
“Dugie’s been up and down the last couple of months after being such a force for us, especially in the middle of the lineup the first two months. Just so many big hits. I continue to hang my hat on he’s such a good hitter and a young man.”
The Reality of Verdugo’s Decline
Contrary to Boone’s characterization, Verdugo hasn’t been “up and down” over the past few months—he’s been consistently down, with perhaps a brief hot stretch at the end of July.
In that span of 285 plate appearances, his 61 wRC+ indicates that he’s been 39% worse than the average MLB hitter. While his defense remains decent, it doesn’t compensate for his massive offensive regression this season, leading to strong arguments that the Yankees should consider calling up top prospect Jasson Dominguez in September.
Boone’s Optimism vs. the Need for Change
Despite the clear signs of Verdugo’s decline and the absence of any sustained hot streak, Boone remains confident that Verdugo will turn things around, even though a potential solution is readily available.
“That hot streak is coming. We kind of keep working there. I feel like over the last couple of months, there’ll be a week where he’s really starting to show it where he’s lining balls a lot. I do think he’s hit into some tough luck. But he’s had some stretches too where it’s just kind of been up and down. He’s been fighting it and grinding it a little bit. It’s just a classic example of how difficult this game can be for anyone in different pockets of the season or different pockets of their career.”
A Decision Looms for the Yankees
The problem with Boone’s argument is that Verdugo has generally been a slightly above-average player for the past five seasons, so his massive regression this year is a significant deviation from his usual performance. The Yankees have an answer to this situation and may have to make a difficult decision to replace him with a 21-year-old switch-hitting prospect who has the potential to change the outcome of a game in the blink of an eye.