Alex Verdugo’s Short Stint with Braves Ends

Alex Verdugo’s time in Atlanta has come to an end unusually quickly. The former Yankees outfielder was designated for assignment by the Braves mid-season on Wednesday, as reported by Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic.

Verdugo, who is now 29 years old, had signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with Atlanta back in late March. Initially, he spent some time in the minors before making the big league roster in mid-April, where he boasted a respectable .341 batting average over 48 plate appearances. But things didn’t really go as planned from that point on.

Unfortunately, his overall performance dropped significantly, finishing the Braves tenure with a batting line of .239/.296/.289 and no home runs over 213 plate appearances. It seems his spot was later claimed by Jurickson Profar, who recently returned from an 80-game suspension.

This recent turn of events adds to a rather tumultuous tenure for Verdugo in the major leagues. In his previous season with New York in 2024, he had an underwhelming batting average of .233 with 13 home runs over 621 plate appearances, mostly playing left field.

In a past World Series against the Dodgers, Verdugo even mentioned his hope of wearing pinstripes again in the future. He remarked, “I know it wasn’t my best personal year at the plate… I think there’s a chance I could come back someday. If not next year, maybe another.”

But it looks like the Yankees opted for Cody Bellinger to fill the center field position while Jasson Dominguez is set to take on left field. It’s interesting how things can shift so quickly in this game.