Inside The Pinstripes

Rival Showing Interest in Yankees Free Agent Alex Verdugo

One of the New York Yankees' biggest rivals appears to have interest in Alex Verdugo.

Grant Young

Oct 29, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) reacts after hitting a sacrifice RBI against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Oct 29, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) reacts after hitting a sacrifice RBI against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees' signing of Alex Verdugo last offseason didn't go according to plan.

When the 28-year-old signed a one-year, $8.7 million contract with New York on January 11, 2024, the Yankees were surely hoping to get the guy who had an OPS between .733 and .845 throughout his four seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

Alas, Verdugo produced a .647 OPS during the regular season for the Yankees. While he's an above-average outfielder (as shown by his advanced metrics on Baseball Savant), the Yankees have already made it clear that they're keen to give 21-year-old Jasson Dominguez his chance starting in left field in 2025.

So now Verdugo is an unrestricted free agent. And according to a January 7 X post from Chris Cotillo of MassLive, it appears that New York's other team may have an interest in acquiring him.

"Pirates are indeed hot after Alex Verdugo and are a team to watch there, as @ByRobertMurray reported. Other teams like Mets, Jays involved, too," Cotillo wrote.

Of course, Verdugo wouldn't be the first Yankees outfielder in 2024 to sign with the Mets this offseason if he was to do so. The Mets currently have Soto, Starling Marte, and Brandon Nimmo as their likely starting outfield. But given Marte having dealt with several injuries over the past few seasons, they seem to want to add another outfielder into the mix as a sort of insurance.

Losing Verdugo wouldn't hurt nearly as bad as losing Soto for Yankees fans. But they would likely prefer that Verdugo sign elsewhere.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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