The New York Mets‘ outfield has already received a major facelift this offseason, spearheaded by the acquisition of former New York Yankees star Juan Soto with a landmark 15-year, $765 million.
Steve Cohen’s expensive bunch may not be finished with their cross-town shopping: MassLive.com Chris Cotillo reports the Mets may also be interested in Yankees free-agent outfielder Alex Verdugo.
The 28-year-old is coming off arguably his worst season as a pro, producing a measly .22/.291/.356 triple-slash (.657 OPS) with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 149 games.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone often benched Verdugo down the stretch in favor of prodigal rookie Jasson Dominguez. However, he regained his starting spot in the playoffs thanks to his strong defense.
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This is where Verdugo would provide most of his value: while left field is his favorite spot, he’s started over 100 games in each outfield position.
In 2024, he was a firmly above-average defender, ranking in the 76th percentile among left-fielders in OAA (Outs Above-Average) while slotting in the 96th percentile for arm value.
How would Verdugo fit with the Mets? The team’s outfield currently features incumbent center field Brandon Nimmo, power-fielding specialist Jose Siri, fourth-outfielder type Tyrone Taylor, and the expensive-but-declining Starling Marte.
Verdugo is also hailed as a strong clubhouse energy presence (
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Marte has one year and $20.75 million left on what’s turned out to be a subpar contract with the Mets. He could easily be released or dumped to another team if New York signs Verdugo.
The Mets aren’t the only team after the former Yankees outfielder: Cotillo reporters the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays are also interested.
While less competitive than New York, both teams could offer Verdugo more playing time: it’s highly unlikely the Pirates platoon of Josh Palacios and Nick Yorke or the Toronto tandem of Joey Lopefido and Jonatan Clase would offer much competition.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Verdugo in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft and he broke through as a starter in 2019, posting a tidy .294/.342/.475 for a .817 OPS and a career-best 3.1 bWAR.
He was shipped to the Boston Red Sox that offseason as a key part of the Mookie Betts trade and was a serviceable piece for four seasons at Fenway, averaging around 2.0 bWAR a season. Verdugo was traded to New York following the 2023 campaign.
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