As the Red Sox remain in the wild card race and seem likely to add pieces before Tuesday’s trade deadline, the club has already dealt Enrique Hernandez and might also move other regulars in an effort to upgrade the roster as a whole. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam report that the Sox are open to at least listening to offers for outfielder Alex Verdugo, and one unknown AL team in discussions with the Red Sox said the Sox brought up Verdugo’s name as part of ongoing trade talks.
Whether the Red Sox are in listening mode or might be more actively shopping Verdugo, it seems that there is a possibility the right fielder might be in another uniform by Wednesday. Such an outcome might have seemed unlikely as recently as June 27, when Verdugo was hitting .307/.379/.477 over his first 322 plate appearances and seemed on the way to the best season of his seven-year MLB career. However, the last month of play has been rough for Verdugo, as he followed up that dream start by hitting .143/.212/.234 over his next 85 PA.
Overall, the 27-year-old has a .272/.345/.424 slash line in 412 PA, good for a 108 wRC+ that is still above league average. And, Verdugo’s glovework hasn’t slumped, as his +15.8 UZR/150 and +11 Defensive Runs Saved rank him among the best defensive right fielders in the game in 2023. In a deadline season where available pitchers far outnumber available hitters, the Red Sox would be sure to find plenty of interest in a productive bat who is controlled through 2024 via his final year of arbitration eligibility.
Even if Verdugo is retained beyond the deadline, it isn’t clear if he is in Boston’s long-term plans. The outfielder told McAdam earlier today that “there’s been zero talks about an extension….they haven’t come to me with anything. So there’s not one way to lead me to believe that they’re interested in that, you know what I mean? There’s no real talks of an extension, so since there’s no real talk of getting anything done, there’s nothing to get done.”
Adam Duvall has also been mentioned as a possible Red Sox trade chip at the deadline, since the veteran outfielder is a free agent after the season. However, in the event of a Verdugo trade, Duvall would step in as the new right fielder, joining Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran as the regular starters. If chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom felt particularly bold, he could aim to both move Verdugo and Duvall in separate transactions, and look to obtain another outfielder with more long-term control. Top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela might also factor into Boston’s immediate plans, as he has been playing well in his first taste of Triple-A ball.
From Verdugo’s perspective, he said he wants to remain with the Red Sox but is understanding about the realities of the trade market. Noting that he came to the Red Sox in the first place as part of the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade, Verdugo told McAdam, “I thought I wouldn’t get traded and I ended up getting traded. This isn’t my first time and I feel like once you get traded, you don’t care….You don’t take no hard feelings. You just go out there to play, play hard. Wherever you are in the big leagues, it’s a blessing.”