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A quick bit of trivia here in the midst of the Yankees’ stretch run to the MLB postseason: Which two Yankees hitters have posted the best batting averages over the last 15 games, the only members of the Bombers to rank among the Top 20 in that category over that time span? No, the answer is not Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. It’s much-maligned infielder Gleyber Torres and … drumroll, please … even more maligned outfielder Alex Verdugo.
You would never know that Verdugo has been among the most productive players in the lineup lately, though, not with the bashing he has taken in the New York and national media of late. Indeed, Verdugo has struggled for much of the year, but lately, it appears his big sin has been playing the same position as 21-year-old phenom Jasson Dominguez, the top-rated Yankees prospect.
The Yankees faithful want the shiny new object, Dominguez, and are ready to throw over the veteran Verdugo for him. Yankees brass—mostly Brian Cashman, the GM—has been roundly criticized for the failure to bring up Dominguez to replace Verdugo.
New York finally did promote Dominguez to the big-league roster on Monday, but played him in center field, keeping Verdugo in left field and giving Aaron Judge a night as the designated hitter. Verdugo’s response: A 2-for-4 night, with a home run and two RBIs.
Yankees Have Been Backing the Veteran
After the game, Verdugo also confronted the addition of Dominguez, who might eventually take Verdugo’s job.
“[Dominguez] is gonna come up here, he’s gonna play, he’s gonna help this team win,” Verdugo said after the game, via the New York Post. “Whatever that means, that means, right? If I lose a little bit of playing time, I lose a little bit of playing time. At the end of the day, I want to win. The only thing that matters is getting into the playoffs and winning there.”
Cashman and manager Aaron Boone have been clear in their conviction that Verdugo gives them the best chance to win. That is despite Verdugo’s .237 batting average and his .659 OPS, numbers that have been on the rise of late. Verdugo is batting .333 in his last 15 games, with an .831 OPS.
His hot streak happens to coincide with the realization that he had been suffering an allergy to his batting gloves, which caused the Franklin company to send him some new ones without the offending allergens.
Verdugo was ridiculed for the idea that the gloves were part of his troubles with the bat. But he has raised his batting average by 10 points and his OPS by 11 points since he changed the gloves.
Alex Verdugo Under Siege Despite Hot Streak
Still, Verdugo continues to be pummeled by the media who seem to willingly ignore the fact that he has hit better lately.
The Post’s Joel Sherman wrote of Dominguez on Tuesday: “There was a place to play him, obviously, because Alex Verdugo has arguably been the worst regularly used player in the majors, not for one month or two, but for three.”
That’s not quite true. Obviously, Verdugo has hit poorly, but as measured by wins above replacement at the analysis site Fan Graphs, Verdugo’s 0.8 WAR means he is not even the worst on his team—he’s tied with Oswaldo Cabrera and better than Giancarlo Stanton (0.7).
Verdugo is a free agent after this season, and almost certainly will give way to Dominguez going forward. But he has responded well to the idea that the rookie should take his job sooner rather than later.
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