Ex-Red Sox Star Predicted To Land With Marlins After Disappointing Season

Things have gone downhill for the once-promising Red Sox star

Apr 11, 2019; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of a New Era Miami Marlins hat in the dugout during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball is a cruel business.

One minute, a player looks like a future All-Star, and the next, they find themselves close to losing their starting job. That has been the case for one former Boston Red Sox in 2024, and it happens to be the player the Sox traded to their chief rivals.

Outfielder Alex Verdugo, who was traded to Boston in the highly controversial Mookie Betts trade in 2020, is set to hit free agency this offseason after his lone year as a member of the New York Yankees. Boston dealt Verdugo to the Bronx last December.

As was the case in 2023 with the Red Sox, Verdugo started this season hot, then began to fade. He has been one of the worst qualified hitters in MLB since mid-June. Now, it could be a struggle for him to establish himself as a long-term starter in this league.

On Friday, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter predicted Verdugo would sign a one-year deal with the Miami Marlins for the 2025 season, in hopes eventually of landing a trade to another contender.

"Anyone with a pulse who can swing a baseball bat stands to be an offensive upgrade over the Marlins' current lineup, so they will be a logical landing spot for fringe free agents who are struggling to find a guarantee of regular playing time elsewhere," Reuter said.

"Alex Verdugo (fits) that above description, and bringing (him) aboard on (a one-year deal) would provide an offensive boost while also restocking the cupboard with trade chips."

There was a time when Verdugo, 28, looked like he would land a hefty payday in free agency. He finished 12th in MVP voting as a 24-year-old in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and had plenty of big moments in a Red Sox uniform, including batting .310 in the 2021 playoffs.

However, Verdugo has shown a penchant for inconsistency of late, turning in his worst season in the big leagues with the Yankees. He has a career-worst 83 OPS+ in 2024 (excluding his brief 2017 call-up), and has drawn the ire of Yankees fans questioning his effort on the basepaths.

Verdugo had a memorable return to Fenway Park on Jun. 14, belting a two-run home run in his first at-bat against his former Red Sox teammates and yelling "Let me hear it!" to the crowd on his trip around the bases. However, he has just two home runs since that date, while losing over 100 points of OPS.

If he can find his swing again in a place like Miami, Verdugo may still have a long career ahead of him. But things certainly haven't gone according to plan since the day he first put on a Red Sox cap.

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