Former Red Sox, Yankees OF Alex Verdugo Suddenly Top Remaining Free Agent Bat

Alex Verdugo fell short in the World Series with the New York Yankees last fall, but the former Boston Red Sox standout is now the top-ranked free agent position player left on the market.

Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) runs off the field against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning during game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

MLB free agency has been burning hot for over three months, but things are finally started to fizzle out as spring training gets underway.

Pete Alonso went back to Queens, while Clayton Kershaw returned to Los Angeles. Alex Bregman is off the board, as are Nick Pivetta, Harrison Bader, Yoán Moncada, Justin Turner and Brendan Rodgers.

By many accounts, that leaves outfielder Alex Verdugo as the top position player hanging around in free agency.

The Athletic had Verdugo ranked as the No. 38 free agent entering the offseason. He is one of just three players from their top 40 still on the open market, next to starting pitchers Andrew Heaney and José Quintana. The same three players remain from Yahoo Sports' top 50 list, while Verdugo is the only one left from FOX Sports' top 30.

J.D. Martinez, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Iglesias and Mark Canha are the other notable bats still out there, but they are all at least 35 years old. Verdugo is only 29, so he presumably has more upside than the rest of the field.

Verdugo hit .233 with 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, a .647 OPS and a 0.8 WAR across 149 games with the New York Yankees in 2024. In the postseason, he hit .208 with one home run, eight RBIs and a .622 OPS en route to a loss in the World Series.

That made for the worst season of Verdugo's big league career so far, but he isn't too far removed from much higher highs.

Once a top prospect and breakout young star with Dodgers, Verdugo got sent to the Boston Red Sox as part of the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade. Verdugo hit .289 with a .778 OPS from 2019 to 2022, averaging 15 home runs, 69 RBIs, 39 doubles and a 3.0 WAR per 162 games during that stretch.

Now that both Red Sox and Yankees fans have turned against him, Verdugo is looking to provide reinforcements to a new team dissatisfied with its outfield outlook in the early days of preseason camp.

Bleacher Report pegged the Kansas City Royals as the best fit for Verdugo – based on their lackluster outfield production in 2024 – on a one-year $6 million deal. Another one of the outlet's writers predicted Verdugo would join the Houston Astros earlier this month.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates were among the teams linked to Verdugo before they signed Anthony Santander and Tommy Pham, respectively.

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