Despite spring training being well underway and the World Baseball Classic signifying our proximity to MLB season, there are a few former Boston Red Sox players who remain unsigned. Outfielder Alex Verdugo is no longer one of them.
Verdugo on Sunday signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres, first reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune. The contract does not contain an invite to big league spring training. He'll return to the West Coast, where his professional baseball career began with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that drafted him in 2014.
As most Red Sox fans very well know and don't need reminding, Verdugo was part of Boston's return in the brutal Mookie Betts trade. He'll join former Boston staples like his one-time teammate Xander Bogaerts and beloved announcer Don Orsillo in San Diego.
Verdugo is fresh off an unsuccessful minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves last season, which could be why it took him so long to find a new club. He batted .239/.296/.289 with 10 doubles and 12 RBI over 56 games in the major leagues. He didn't perform any better during his brief stint with Triple-A Gwinnett, with six hits, including a double and two homers, in nine games.
Former Red Sox outfielder, part of Mookie Betts trade Alex Verdugo signs minor league deal with Padres
Verdugo's bad luck started even before his first minor league deal, after the Red Sox traded the final year of his contract in 2024 to the New York Yankees. He started off hot in the Bronx and he had some Sox fans worried about a trade loss, but he finished the season with a .233/.291/.356 over 149 games.
The outfielder wasn't a bad player for Boston on the field, but his off-the-grass issues got in the way of his success. Verdugo batted .294/.355/.440 with a .795 OPS over his first 199 games with the Red Sox from the COVID-19 pandemic shortened season in 2020 and into 2021. His slash line decreased each season until 2023, when he logged a .264/.324/.421 line in 142 games.
Verdugo had multiple conflicts with Red Sox management, from tardiness to a perceived lack of effort on the base paths. The issues and his decreased production on the field led the Red Sox to dump him on the Yankees.
Verdugo was the prize in Boston's return in the Betts trade, and it's still a shame that he couldn't stick with the team. Now, he'll try to stick with the Padres, which he couldn't do with the Yankees or Braves.