Alex Verdugo’s hopes of returning to MLB just took a massive hit at a time when it’s uncertain if he still is worthy of a major-league roster spot.
Verdugo, on a minor-league deal with the Padres, is set to undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a shoulder injury and has been released by the team, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The 29-year-old will have not played a major-league game in roughly 20 months when the 2027 season — if there’s no lockout — begins.
Verdugo signed with the Padres in March after a disappointing 2025 season with the Braves, in which he appeared in 56 games and posted a career .585 OPS.
No team signed him after the Braves released him in July with a slashline of .239/.296/.289 and a -0.3 bWAR, failing to homer in 213 plate appearances.
The Padres took a shot on him in spring training to add depth but he did not break camp with the team, and did not appear in any minor-league games with the team.
It’s unclear if the lack of minors game is tied to the potential shoulder issues.
It’s fair to wonder about his MLB future now since teams have essentially not deemed him worthy of a roster spot for the majority of the 2025 and ’26 seasons.
Verdugo’s career has trended in the wrong direction since the Red Sox traded the former second-round pick to the Yankees before the 2024 season.
He posted a .761 OPS in four seasons with the Red Sox, but tallied a .647 mark with the Yankees.
Verdugo started hot with the Bronx Bombers before enduring a brutal second half while hitting .233, his lowest mark for any full season.
Although the Yankees played him 149 times that season and throughout the playoffs, he signed just a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Braves in March 2025.
Verdugo began his career with the Dodgers before being traded to Boston in the Mookie Betts swap, and is a career .270/.326/.406 hitter in 856 games.
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