The New York Yankees surely expected a better season out of Alex Verdugo than the .647 OPS he produced during the 2024 regular season when they signed him to a one-year, $8.7 million contract last January.
Oct 7, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) before the first inning for game two of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
They expected more because this was the worst offensive season of Verdugo's career. While this was obviously not ideal for New York, every player is due for a down season at some point. Not to mention that Verdugo's reported allergy to batting gloves could have played a part in his struggles.
Regardless, there's reason to believe that Verdugo, who is now an unrestricted free agent, will have more to offer for his next MLB team. And a January 12 article from MLB.com titled '7 free agents who are better than you think' explained why.
"The 28-year-old outfielder actually started the season closer to his career norms. Through June 18, he had a .741 OPS with nine home runs. He struggled to a .206/.268/.292 line with four homers the rest of the way," MLB.com writer Manny Randhawa wrote.
"But you can often tell whether a player is a strong candidate for a bounce-back campaign by the level of interest he draws on the free-agent market despite a down year. That is certainly the case with Verdugo".
Randhawa continued, "They might be considering his quality of contact metrics, which weren’t as bad as his actual numbers would suggest -- Verdugo’s expected batting average (.250) was 17 points above his actual figure, and his squared-up rate (33.4%) was in the 96th percentile among qualified batters.
"Add to that his low strikeout rate (15%, 88th percentile) and low whiff rate (15.5%, 93rd percentile) -- each better than the prior season -- and you can certainly see how a rebound in 2025 could be on the way," he added.
"Another component to Verdugo’s value despite a down year offensively is his defense, which wasn't hindered by his struggles at the plate -- he had seven defensive runs saved and ranked in the 94th percentile with an average arm strength of 92.1 mph."
Despite these optimistic statistics, it's hard to imagine the Yankees will decide to pursue re-signing Verdugo this winter.
