In a somewhat shocking move, the Atlanta Braves are signing outfielder Alex Verdugo to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, per Jon Heyman.
Depth at any position is never a bad thing, but the outfield is the one area the Braves had already addressed this offseason, inking Jurickson Profar to a three-year contract. With Ronald Acuña Jr. expected to be back in May, Atlanta has a lot of quality depth already, which makes this move smell a little fishy.
Hopefully, it’s not injury-related, but it’s possible a trade could be on the horizon, or the Braves simply aren’t satisfied with Jarred Kelenic, Bryan De La Cruz, and Eli White.
We’ll know more soon enough, but Alex Verdugo is a pretty damn good baseball player, recording 11.8 WAR over the last six seasons. He struggled offensively in 2024, hitting just .233 with 13 homers and a .647 OPS over 149 games for the Yankees. But in the previous five seasons, he posted an OPS+ of 106, which is 6% above league average. Verdugo even finished 12th in the AL MVP race with the Red Sox following the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
Still just 28 years old, Verdugo is a player I thought would be looking for a starting role somewhere. He’s played in 748 games over the last six seasons and has proven to be an above average offensive player with plus-defense. Who knows what the Braves plan is going to be for him, but he’s fully capable of starting if needed.
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Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire
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