Guardians Could Sign Former Yankees Outfielder After Injury Disaster

The Cleveland Guardians should absolutely sign this former New York Yankees outfielder after the injury news concerning Chase DeLauter.

Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) hits a RBI single during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians received some brutal injury news this week, as top outfield prospect Chase DeLauter just underwent sports hernia surgery and will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

DeLauter was expected to compete for a starting job in the Guardians' outfield out of spring training, but now, that obviously is not going to happen.

That leaves Cleveland scrambling for answers, but there is still one name available that could make perfect sense for the Guardians: Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo spent the 2024 campaign with the New York Yankees and struggled mightily at the plate, slashing .233/.291/.356 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI over 621 plate appearances.

However, the 28-year-old was terrific defensively as usual, posting a 7.8 UZR/150 while also registering 7 DRS.

Verdugo has long been an elite glove in the outfield, and while his bat fell off a cliff last year, he has always been respectable at the plate, owning a lifetime .742 OPS.

It couldn't hurt for Cleveland to sign Verdugo to a minor-league deal, especially given the question marks that now exist in the outfield for the Guardians.

Heck, the outfield was somewhat of a concern for Cleveland before DeLauter's injury, but Stephen Vogt's club was banking on players like DeLauter and Jhonkensy Noel stepping up.

The Guardians didn't really spend money during the offseason, which is right on brand for a franchise that typically ranks near the bottom of the MLB in payroll. However, Verdugo certainly wouldn't be expensive, and he would have a chance to revitalize his career in Cleveland.

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