Red Sox's Alex Verdugo Linked To Phillies As Trade Rumor Mill Continues To Churn

Boston will have to consider trading away the fan-favorite slugger

Scott Neville | Nov 9, 2023

Red Sox's Alex Verdugo Linked To Phillies As Trade Rumor Mill Continues To Churn /

In this story:

Would the Boston Red Sox ship outfielder Alex Verdugo to their former president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, and the Philadelphia Phillies?

Verdugo is a core member of the current roster and a fan favorite but his future in Boston appears bleak. The 27-year-old has been linked to many suiters this offseason, including the rival New York Yankees after Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was open about the calls he'd received about his right fielder.

Now it appears that the Phillies could get involved, though it could be purely speculation. Nick Castellanos reportedly could be traded this winter according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, leaving a vacancy in right field.

"Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernández are among the right-field options on the free-agent market, so the Phillies could take the $20 million per year owed to Castellanos over the next three seasons to sign his replacement," Feinsand wrote Thursday. "Other players such as Boston’s Alex Verdugo could also be available in trades."

Verdugo hit .264 with 55 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 54 RBIs and a .745 OPS in 142 games. He also logged nine defensive runs saved in the extremely difficult Fenway Park right field.

Unless the Red Sox could get an impact pitcher and already have a solution to fill the offensive production Verdugo would be leaving behind, it might make more sense to keep the eccentric outfielder in Boston.

More MLB: 19 Best Free Agent Fits For Red Sox As They Attempt To Bolster Roster For 2024

Published Nov 9, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu