PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates saw one of their free agent targets sign elsewhere, just one week before the start of the regular season.
The Atlanta Braves announced that they signed outfielder Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5 million deal and that they reassigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported that the Pirates showed interest in Verdugo back in January.
Verdugo played for the New York Yankees last season, helping them win the American League Pennant and make the World Series for the first time since 2009.
He slashed a career-low .233/.291/.356 for a .647 OPS in 149 games, with 130 hits, 28 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 49 walks.
The 32-year old played his first three seasons in the MLB with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2017-19. He had his most efficient season in 2019, slashing .294/.342/.475 for an OPS of .817 in 106 games, along with 101 hits, 22 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 44 RBIs and 26 walks.
He would then spend the next four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, 2020-23. His best campaign came in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, where he slashed .308/.367/.448 for an OPS of .844 in 53 games, with 62 hits, 16 doubles, six home runs, 15 RBIs and 17 walks.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Pirates offered Verdugo a one-year contract around $8 million back on March 6, but there was no confirmation this took place.
The Pirates instead signed free agent outfielder Tommy Pham to a one-year, $4 million deal with $250,000 in incentives.
Pittsburgh has also made left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney for one-year, $5.25 million and bringing back former All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier on a one-year, $1.525 million contract and re-signed Andrew McCutchen to a one-year, $5 million contract.
The Pirates will have Pham, plus center fielder Oneil Cruz and all-star Bryan Reynolds in their outfield. Other outfielders that will compete for spots on the Pirates roster include Joshua Palacios, Jack Suwinski, Nick Yorke, Billy Cook and Ji Hwan Bae.
Pittsburgh starts their regular season with a road series vs. Tampa Bay, beginning on March 27.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
