Outfielder Alex Verdugo (29), who played alongside Ryu Hyun-jin with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has fallen into free agency limbo. It is even more surprising that he has not received a single offer from Major League Baseball.

The U.S. media outlet The Athletic reported on the 19th (Korean time) that Verdugo did not receive a single Major League offer after becoming a free agent following last season. There were only rumors that the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels, and Houston Astros were interested, but no official offers were made.

The left-handed hitting outfielder Verdugo debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and played for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees until last year, recording a .272 batting average with 70 home runs and 316 RBIs in 800 games over eight Major League seasons, with an OPS of .742.

Although he has not lived up to the expectations of his promising years, he has performed at a generally acceptable level as a starting player. However, after being traded from Boston to the Yankees before last season, he had a career-low season with a .233 batting average in 149 games, hitting 13 home runs and 61 RBIs, and posting an OPS of .647.

Still, at 29 years old, he is relatively young and a player who has proven his mid-range hitting ability with four consecutive seasons of double-digit home runs, so finding a new team did not seem difficult. However, as the season opener approaches, he remains in free agency limbo.

Former Yankees teammates are also surprised that Verdugo has not found a new team. Aaron Judge said, "Verdugo is a really great player. It's surprising that he has not been signed since he adds a lot of value and versatility to a team." Marcus Stroman also remarked, "It's surprising. The baseball world has been full of surprises lately."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone also expressed regret over Verdugo's situation, stating, "There's no doubt that Verdugo is a Major League starter, and while he may not fit financially or in terms of team needs, he fit well with us."

During his time with Boston, Verdugo faced controversies over his work ethic. In June 2023, he was benched for lackluster base running, and in August of the same year, he was excluded from the lineup after repeatedly being late for game day arrivals.

However, he did not have such issues during his time with the Yankees. Trent Grisham said, "It was fun being around Verdugo. We laughed every day," referring to him as a good teammate. Anthony Volpe also recalled, "He was one of my favorite teammates. The way Verdugo showed up on and off the field benefited the team in many ways," and added, "It's absurd that no one recognizes his value."

Despite being a well-liked player among Yankees players, it seems unlikely that Verdugo will return to the team. The Yankees are cultivating Dominican Republic-born top prospect Jason Dominguez to fill the left field position that Verdugo played last year. Born in 2003, switch-hitter Dominguez has shown his potential as a power-hitting prospect by posting a .239 batting average with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in 15 spring training games, with an OPS of .749.

In a situation where Verdugo has nowhere to go, he may have to look for a contract during the season. Teams experiencing outfield gaps due to injuries or underperformance of existing players may emerge. However, if there are no offers, he may have to consider looking towards Asia, such as Korea or Japan.

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