The Mookie Betts trade shook the baseball world. A century after dealing away a superstar who helped them win a World Series, the Boston Red Sox did it again. Worse, it seemed as though they didn’t get nearly as much in return as they probably could have for Betts, at that time a four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger, and 2018 American League MVP.
Since then, Betts has gone on to four more All-Star Game appearances and won four more Silver Sluggers, two more Gold
Gloves, finished second in National League MVP voting twice, and, most importantly, won three more World Series to add on top of the one he won with Boston in 2018. However, while Betts has continued to pursue a place in Cooperstown (and likely already made enough of a case to be in the Hall of Fame), Alex Verdugo has slowly been pushed out of the major leagues. And in that frame came a brief stint with the Yankees.
Alexander Brady Verdugo
Born: May 15, 1996 (Tucson, AZ)
Yankees Tenure: 2024
Verdugo attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, where he was drafted in the second round by the Dodgers in 2014. He hit only three home runs in his senior year, but he batted .532 and was a left-handed pitcher for his varsity squad, posting a 2.19 ERA. And after being selected, Verdugo decided to sign with LA rather than play college baseball at Arizona State University, where he had previously committed.
Over the course of three seasons in the minor leagues, Verdugo lit everything up, showcasing why he was considered such an elite prospect. In 2015 alone, he received multiple awards and honors from the Rookie ball Arizona League and was eventually promoted to High-A, hitting .385 in 23 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League. He hit for the cycle in that span as well and was eventually named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year.
In 2016, Verdugo began the season with the Tulsa Drillers in Double-A. He made the All-Star team and also played for Mexico’s team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, as his father Joe is originally from Hermosillo, a city in the northwestern part of the country, which made him eligible. Verdugo was then promoted to Triple-A, where he once again showed his prowess at the plate for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, batting .314 over the season, was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team, and was selected to represent the Dodgers at the MLB Futures Game.
Verdugo was promoted on September 1, 2017, and played his first game at the ripe age of 21 against the Padres, going hitless with a walk. He would play 14 more games for the Dodgers before his season ended, as he did not perform well enough in the short span to make the playoff roster.
The young Arizonan played more games for the Dodgers in 2018, but he spent most of his time in Triple-A, where he continued to develop. Overall, he played 37 games in a Dodgers uniform that season, slashing .260/.329/.377, a much-improved mark on all accounts, especially in the batting average category, where he was almost 100 points higher in a larger sample size.
Verdugo officially made the Opening Day roster for Los Angeles at 23 years old, and, once again, saw a jump in production as his playing time jumped as well. He only played 106 games due to an oblique injury (that would also keep him out of the postseason). He played 100 games for the first time in his career, and registered 101 hits in the 106 games he played with 44 RBIs and 49 strikeouts. Verdugo’s 113 OPS+ was more than enough to make him look to be an important piece of the puzzle moving forward, but, as we know, a trade would eventually happen that would change the trajectory of his career.
On February 10, 2020, the Dodgers and Red Sox made the trade official. Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs, and catcher Connor Wong headed to Boston in exchange for Betts, left-handed pitcher David Price, and cash considerations. Although the names they received weren’t chopped liver at the time, the Red Sox seemingly placed a higher priority on moving Betts’ and Price’s contracts than getting the absolute best possible prospects.
With the 2020 season being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone had to adjust. There were no bodies in the stands, only cardboard cutouts and fake noise pumped in from the sound systems. And in 53 of the 60 games that were played that season by the Red Sox, Verdugo was excellent, batting over .300 for a forgettable Boston team that finished 24-36. But with the Dodgers going on to win the World Series and the Fenway faithful still recovering from the scars of the Betts trade, there were, of course, some hard feelings.
Verdugo continued to produce in a Red Sox uniform, though, despite all of the outside noise. He wasn’t Betts, but he was enough to respectably fill an outfield spot both at the plate and in the field. He had some signature postseason moments for the Sox, too, including a three-RBI game against the Yankees in the 2021 AL Wild Card that was brought to life by a two-run single in the seventh inning that pretty much sealed the game. All of this occurred after he brought the fourth run of the game home for the Red Sox as well.
Verdugo played hero plenty of times in that postseason, specifically, saying to the media:
“I’m not nervous at all. I live for this. It’s still baseball, you know what I mean? The surroundings and fans and the noise outside of it are a lot different, with how much media is on the field before the games and all that, but for me — I just play my game. Baseball is baseball, and let’s not make it more complicated than that.”
Although Boston fell in the ALCS to Houston and missed the next two Octobers, tthe lefty outfielder became a staple on the Fenway grass over the next couple of seasons. In 2022 and 2023, he slashed a combined .272/.326/.413 with an OPS+ of 101, 24 home runs, and 128 RBIs in 294 games. However, 2023 would be the last time he donned a Red Sox uniform, as he was traded to the Yankees on December 5, 2023, as general manager Brian Cashman looked to fill a need both on defense and as a left-handed bat in an almost-strictly right-handed lineup.
However, the plan backfired. The outlook and potential versatility for the Yankees were exciting. And, of course, Yankees fans were thrilled when Verdugo hit a home run on the first pitch he saw back at Fenway following the trade.
Over the course of the season though, Verdugo dealt with lots of ups and downs. He began the season extremely slow at the plate, saying after the season in a quasi-post mortem that he was far too aggressive than he would’ve liked to be, and that he got away from his game. And not only that, but he also had continued issues developing with his hands. He was experiencing skin issues and pain in his hands, a problem that had been continuous since the 2021 season, and that led him to receive an allergy test over the All-Star break. The results showed that he had an allergy to materials in his gloves.
All in all, Verdugo still played in 149 games for the Yankees and slashed .233/.291/.356, and the Yankees were able to make the World Series against Betts and the Dodgers. His defense was good (as October proved), but expectations were higher than an 84 OPS+, especially since he had at least had a league-average bat for Boston in his final two seasons at Fenway. Ultimately, Betts came out on top again, and Verdugo’s performance over the year wasn’t remotely enough to move the needle. It didn’t help that he made the last out of the season too, striking out against Walker Buehler to end the Game 5 collapse in the Bronx. Verdugo entered free agency shortly afterward, and there was little interest in a reunion from the fanbase.
Verdugo ended up joining the Braves in March 2025, where he was sent to Triple-A to get in shape after missing spring training due to his late signing. He would ultimately play 56 games for the Braves before being designated for assignment and released. Verdugo did at least register an impressive four-hit night in his debut, which helped the Braves defeat the Twins 4-3.
After being released, Verdugo was signed to a minor league deal by the San Diego Padres but was eventually released before requiring a season-ending surgery. In fact, that news just broke two days ago. This is unfortunate timing for Verdugo just before turning 30, but that is where the birthday lad’s baseball story ends — for now, anyway.
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