TAMPA — Alex Verdugo and former Red Sox manager Alex Cora reunited Wednesday at Steinbrenner Field after the Yankees’ new outfielder knocked Cora out after his trade to the Bronx in December.
At the time, Verdugo said he was looking forward to playing for Yankees manager Aaron Boone. [Boone] He has his players’ backs. You want to see the fire. Don’t berate people, have their backs. ”
This comes after Cora benched Verdugo twice last season, once for lack of energy and once for being late to a game.
“He hasn’t played in a year,” Cora said Wednesday when asked about Verdugo’s comments before the Yankees’ 9-4 loss to the Red Sox. [Boone] still.I know he liked “Savages.” [in the box rant]’But I know he liked the Red Sox at one point.like [Verdugo]. He made me a better manager. I admit that not everything was perfect, but he was a good player for us. ”
“The funny thing is, he’s not the first guy I’ve benched in five years,” Cora said when pressed further about disciplining Verdugo before he left for the Red Sox’ arch-rivals in December. Ta.it just happened [that] It became public. ”
Verdugo said he is also looking forward to a fresh start.
He is also set to become a free agent for the first time after the season, and Cora believes he can use that as motivation.
“That and until I get traded,” Cora said. “He always talked about wanting to be with the Red Sox for a long time. That never happened. I’m sure he wants to be with the Yankees for a long time.”
In his final season with the Red Sox, Verdugo got off to a great start with an .856 OPS through his first 80 games, but the left-handed swinger’s performance plummeted to a .620 OPS over his final 70 games.
“Last year, especially in the first half of the season, he was probably our best player,” Cora said. “The way he plays defense, the way he works. He just needs to be consistent in everything… He’s still learning and he’s the first to admit he’s not the end product.”
This includes hitting left-handed pitchers.
Verdugo’s career OPS is .665 against left-handed batters, compared to .807 against right-handed batters. This issue became more apparent after Verdugo was traded from the Dodgers to the Red Sox.
“The only thing that surprised me the last two years was the lack of production against lefties,” Cora said. “I think he’s a tenacious hitter against left-handed hitters, but he wasn’t able to do that. … I think hitting left-handed is the next step for Alex. I believe he can do it.”
And it helps that he’s surrounded by hitters like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
“He’s going to be hitting at the bottom of the lineup,” Cora said. “He’s a good hitter who hits No. 7.”
Defensively, Cora believes Verdugo will benefit from playing only one position in the outfield.
“If he plays left field, he’s fine,” Cora said. “We saw that in ’21. If you keep him in one place, he’s trapped and it was much easier for him. You just have to take care of him physically. It won’t.”
