Alex Verdugo has been on a long, strange trip through professional baseball. Drafted by the Dodgers as a Tucson, Arizona, high schooler in the 2014 second round, by 2019 he rose to be the No. 1 prospect in the Los Angeles system and No. 35 in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. And then the Dodgers traded him.
Now, after playing only 65 professional games — 56 at the big league level, nine in the minors — in the last 16 months, the controversial outfielder has finally landed with his fifth MLB team, the San Diego Padres.
The signing is a strange one for Red Sox fans. They now see a player who helped take Boston to the 2021 American League Championship Series join former Red Sox fan favorite Xander Bogaerts, as well as beloved play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo in San Diego.
The Dodgers in 2020 sent Verdugo to the Boston Red Sox as part of the blockbuster deal that sent former American League MVP Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. In 2021, Verdugo became a key player for Boston, helping to propel the Red Sox on an improbable run to the ALCS. But after two more years and several benchings by manager Alex Cora over lack of effort, lateness on game days, and other unspecified off-field issues, the Red Sox had seen enough.
In an indication of how little they thought of Verdugo at the time, the Red Sox traded him to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees, who gave him a $9.2 million contract for one year. But after that one year, in which he managed only a subpar .647 OPS and struck out against Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler in a key postseason at-bat for the Yankees in 2024, the Yankees showed no interest in signing him — and no one else did either.
Verdugo eventually caught on briefly with the Atlanta Braves, who signed him one week before Opening Day in 2025. But after calling him up on April 18, the Braves released him on July 5 after a stretch of 213 plate appearances with a paltry .585 OPS and zero home runs.
Verdugo Signs Minor League Deal With San Diego
According to a report by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, “the Padres’ years-long flirtation with Alex Verdugo has finally resulted in his joining the organization.”
But the Union-Tribune reporter was quick to add that Verdugo “has a ways to go to join the major league team.”
Verdugo signed a minor league contract with the Padres and apparently the deal did not include an invitation to major league spring training. Though, as of Monday, the Padres were seven big league players short due to players departing for international tournaments and other commitments, Verdugo despite 856 games of MLB experience will report to the Padres minor league camp, according to Acee’s report.
Verdugo’s Production Has Declined Rapidly
Despite the high expectations surrounding Verdugo as a prospect and promising start to his career in Los Angeles and then for at least his first two seasons in Boston, the 29-year-old who turns 30 on May 15 has dropped off sharply.
“Since Opening Day 2024, Verdugo has a modest 80 wRC+, while hitting .234/.292/.339 with 13 home runs over 834 PA. In each of those seasons, Verdugo got off to a hot start before badly tailing off,” wrote Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors on Monday. “In each of those seasons, Verdugo got off to a hot start before badly tailing off.”
Signing Verdugo appears to carry little or no risk for the Padres, who have reportedly made no commitments to the struggling veteran. On the other hand, his eight month absence from baseball has to raise the question of why no other team was willing take a chance on Verdugo until now.
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