Outfielder Alex Verdugo has signed a one-year, $1.5 million major-league deal with the Atlanta Braves, the team announced on Thursday.
Verdugo, 28, spent last season with the New York Yankees, providing strong defense but struggling offensively as he hit .233 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 130 games. He posted an 83 OPS+, meaning he was 17 percent less productive than the average major-league hitter.
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Over eight MLB seasons, Verdugo has hit .272 with a 101 OPS+. Prior to his one season in the Bronx, where he made $8.7 million, he spent four years with the Boston Red Sox and three with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Braves will option Verdugo to Triple-A Gwinnett, since he’s had no spring training. They have left-handed hitting Jarred Kelenic to platoon with Bryan De La Cruz in right field until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns, and adding Verdugo gives them more depth as they try to avoid the situation they’ve faced each season in recent years, when injuries forced the Braves to add outfielders via midseason trades or waiver claims. Though the Braves say there are no plans to trade Kelenic, things could get interesting when Acuña returns in May and the daily outfield is set with Jurickson Profar in left, Michael Harris II in center and Acuña in right.
Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that as recently as Tuesday morning, Verdugo hadn’t received a major-league offer this offseason.
Several of his former Yankees teammates spoke highly of him. Shortstop Anthony Volpe traveled to Arizona in the offseason and visited with Verdugo.
“I don’t really know what to say or whether or not people want to talk about it or not, but he’s grinding,” Volpe said. “He’s putting a lot of work in in Arizona. He’s basically getting everything he would be able to get without being part of a team.
“I think he’s definitely ready to go. I think this is going to be a really good chapter in his story, and we all wish him the best because there’s not many guys that have done the things he’s done in his career and introduced those kinds of stat lines and stuff like that.”
Verdugo was No. 38 on The Athletic’s offseason Top 40 Free Agent Big Board and is the final member of that list to sign a new deal.
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The Athletic’s David O’Brien contributed to this story.
(Top photo of Alex Verdugo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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