The Pittsburgh Pirates are said to be interested in outfielder Alex Verdugo. Robert Murray of FanSided more specifically indicated that Verdugo is on the Pirates’ radar. Verdugo, 29, is coming off a down season with the Yankees – his lone season in New York – as he batted a disappointing .233/.291/.356. Verdugo would likely have an everyday role in right field if he joins the Pirates.
Pirates Interested in Alex Verdugo
Except for a trade for first baseman Spencer Horwitz and another one-year deal for franchise icon Andrew McCutchen, general manager Ben Cherington has yet to add to a major league roster that was deficient offensively in 2024. The rumor mill has been largely silent this offseason where the Pirates are concerned. This latest news is unlikely to appease an impatient fan base.
In an eight-year career that began with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Verdugo, 28, has hit .272/.328/.414, 70 home runs, 316 RBI, and a 101 OPS+ that puts him just slightly above the major-league average. Last season, his only season with the Yankees, the left-handed hitter had the worst year of his career, hitting .233/.291/.356, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, and an OPS+ of just 83.
Verdugo is a strong defensive outfielder with a rifle arm. For his career, he owns a 10 Fielding Runs Above Average and 31 Defensive Runs Saved. He led the American League with 12 outfield assists in 2023. His .996 fielding average in left field led the AL in 2024.
Why This Would Work
There’s much to suggest that Verdugo is due for a bounce-back year. He was once considered good enough to be the key figure in a trade for Mookie Betts and David Price. Before experiencing a drop in his production in 2023, from 2019-22 he hit .289/.343/.435. If the home run production is lacking, he’s been a doubles machine. He’s hit 180 doubles in his career, a 162-game average of 36 per year, with his high being 39 in 2022. PNC Park’s short right field provides a clear advantage to a left-handed batter.
His strikeout ratio is a mere 15.1 percent, well below the 22.6 percent major league average over his career. That would be a welcome sight on a team that struck out far too often in 2024. Furthermore, as a well-above-average defensive outfielder, Verdugo would give the Pirates an element they lacked in right field last season.
Leaving the pressure cooker of Yankee Stadium for the more relaxed atmosphere of PNC Park might help Verdugo with his game, too. It worked with A.J. Burnett, Francisco Cervelli, and Dennis Santana, all former Yankees whose performance as a Pirate excelled over what they did in New York. Like all fans of perennial losing teams, Pirates fans are an impatient bunch. But they’re also fair when they see a player is putting out a good effort.
Why This Won’t Work
Verdugo is a solid major leaguer, but there’s a difference between being a solid major leaguer and being the major leaguer the Pirates need right now. He’s hit 13 home runs for two consecutive years, as did Rowdy Tellez. Those 13-homer seasons match a career high for Verdugo. He may be a bounce-back candidate, but what’s he bouncing back to? That type of production got Tellez released last year.
Verdugo’s 2024 stat line isn’t even an improvement over Tellez’s .243/.299/.392 as a Pirate. Nor is it better than Bryan De La Cruz’s overall 2024 stat line of .233/.271/.384, 21 HR, and 68 RBI. The Pirates chose to non-tender De La Cruz rather than pay a projected $4 million in arbitration. Verdugo made $8.7 million last year.
While Verdugo’s stats from 2019-22 indicate the presence of solid hitting ability, he’s now two years removed from that stretch. He’s more of a gamble than a sure thing at this stage. In their quest to find an outfielder who will move the needle in 2025, the Pirates should shoot higher than Verdugo.
The Last Word
It’s no surprise that Cherington is eyeing a former Red Sox player. As a former executive with the Bosox and Toronto Blue Jays, it seems he prefers dealing with those teams, especially if they’re peddling players with whom he was familiar. One can’t help but think of former manager Jim Tracy, whose Pirates tenure was a failure, due largely to his obsession with trying to duplicate the Dodgers teams he’d managed.
Last season, Cherington and owner Bob Nutting stated that 2024 was the year they expected to contend. No such edict has been laid down for 2025. However, if this is a make-or-break year for Cherington, it’s clear that if he’s going down, he’s going down with former Red Sox and Blue Jays.
Main Photo: © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
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