New York Yankees Free Agent Outfielder Surprisingly Remains Unsigned

Is it surprising that a free agent for the New York Yankees remains unsigned?

Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) celebrates with first base coach Travis Chapman (75) after hitting a RBI single during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

As spring training rolls on for the New York Yankees, a couple of starters for their team last year remain unsigned as free agents. 

The 2024 campaign was a great one for the Yankees. The team was able to win the American League Pennant with somewhat of ease and reached the World Series for the first time in a long time. 

Even though the team was unable to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was a great year for the franchise. 

This winter, despite the success of last year, the team went through a lot of roster changes. Losing Juan Soto was the most notable, but their pivot in the offseason was impressive, with Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, and Devin Williams all coming over. 

However, a couple of starters from the World Series still remain on the open market. Even though New York doesn’t appear to be a destination, it is still surprising. 

One of the players that is shockingly still available is outfielder Alex Verdugo. Recently, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke about the slugger still being on the market. 

“Maybe a little bit surprised because he’s without question a big-league player and a big-league starting player, for me,” manager Aaron Boone said to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic (paid subscription required). “It just probably hasn’t lined up money-wise and team-wise and need-wise, but he was great with us.”

Even though he was a starter for New York last year, the results weren’t great for the 28-year-old. It was certainly a down season, with Verdugo slashing .233/.291/.356 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI. 

However, while it wasn’t a good campaign in New York, he had success throughout his career before that. Overall, the slugger has slashed 272/.328/.414.

Those types of career numbers for a 28-year-old are pretty good, and it’s interesting that he hasn’t received a deal yet. 

As Boone mentions, it likely has to be because of his asking price currently. However, with the start of the regular season right around the corner, Verdugo doesn’t have the best leverage as of now. 

For the Yankees, a reunion with the slugger seems extremely unlikely. Currently, the outfielder is looking really strong with Aaron Judge, Jasson Dominguez, Bellinger, and Trent Grishman.

There are still teams out there that need a slugger with the track record of Verdugo, but without spring training under his belt, being ready for Opening Day seems unlikely at this point. 

As shown in recent years, players who sign late in the offseason generally get off to slow starts and sometimes have bad years all together. For Verdugo, who is coming off the worst year of his career, signing early, if it was possible, would have been a good course of action. 

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