Yankees' Alex Verdugo taking advantage of his spot in a deep lineup
Yankees’ Alex Verdugo rounds the bases on his three-run home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander during the first inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Yankees have a lefthanded-hitting outfielder who was acquired via trade in the offseason, will be a free agent after 2024, and is fast becoming a fan favorite in the Bronx with his outstanding play.
They also have Juan Soto.
Soto’s excellence was to be expected when the Yankees acquired him from San Diego on Dec. 6. Only hours earlier, the Yankees picked up Alex Verdugo from Boston for three pitchers, including Long Island native Greg Weissert.
It was Verdugo who starred in the Yankees’ 10-3 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night.
Verdugo hit a three-run homer and an RBI single off Yankees nemesis Justin Verlander to spearhead a 13-hit attack. Verdugo also made two outstanding catches – one sliding, one diving -- in leftfield.
“That’s just a great game, obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Big swing there in the first to get us rolling, three-run homer. Tacking on another one and a couple of really exceptional plays in leftfield, too.”
Verdugo did his damage from the cleanup spot. As the No. 4 man (on Tuesday hitting between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton), Verdugo is batting .391 (9-for-23) with two homers and eight RBIs.
Stanton also homered on Tuesday, a 118.8-mph, 421-foot laser to left in the fifth.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit humbling when you’ve got Judge up there looking down at me and then you’ve got Stanton back right behind me,” Verdugo said. “I’m like the small guy in the group. But honestly, man, I love it. I really do. I feel like I add enough contact in there that I can either move over some guys [or] get the job done. You’ve got Big G behind me hitting balls like . . . you don’t see too many balls hit like that. It’s been a lot of fun hitting right there.
“You’ve got Soto, who’s always on base. You’ve got Judgie, who gets on base a lot, too. I just feel like the top three ahead of me, there’s just always guys on base. That’s just one thing that I’ve got to be ready for that very first at-bat, to make an impact.”
Overall, Verdugo went into Wednesday batting .275 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and an .812 OPS. The 27-year-old who everyone on the Yankees refers to as “Doogie” has gone from Red Sox rival to beloved in the Bronx in no time.
“I love it,” Verdugo said. “I love it. I really do. Great organization, great team, great staff. Honestly, couldn’t be happier here.”
So will the Yankees make as big a pitch to convince Verdugo to stay here past this season as they plan to do with Soto? Probably not. Soto is going to command a contract that might be in excess of $500 million.
But that doesn’t mean the Yankees aren’t keeping on eye on Verdugo as part of their outfield of the future, especially if Soto doesn’t return. Verdugo, who signed a one-year, $8.7-million contract after the trade, fits in perfectly as long as he hits and avoids the drama that dogged him in Boston.
Verdugo was benched twice last season by manager Alex Cora, once for not hustling and once for showing up late to the ballpark.
After the trade, Verdugo addressed that situation, saying: “I want to prove a lot of these ‘he said, she said’ things wrong. We’re all people, man. We’re all humans. Yeah, we make mistakes, but how do we learn from it and how do we bounce back from it? How much stronger do we get from that?”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
