Padres Cut Ties With Former Dodgers Outfielder After Disappointing Tenure

For all intents and purposes, Alex Verdugo's time in a San Diego Padres uniform was limited to a month's worth of games in spring training. All but two came on the minor-league side of the Peoria Sports Complex.

On Monday, the Padres officially released Verdugo from his minor league contract, according to his official transactions log. Verdugo went 1-for-5 with a walk in his two Cactus League contests, then was assigned to the team's Arizona Complex League to begin the regular season.

Now, two months after it began, Verdugo's time in the organization is over.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Verdugo suffered a shoulder injury that is expected to require season-ending surgery.

So ends a disappointing chapter in the long career of a once-hyped prospect who played for four eventual pennant-winning teams, was traded for Mookie Betts, and yet was never much more than an average hitter in MLB.

Verdugo, 29, was a low-risk signing for Padres general manager AJ Preller coming off a disappointing 2025 season.

In 56 games with the Atlanta Braves, Verdugo slashed .239/.296/.289 before he was released last July. If his major league career ends there, Verdugo will retire with a career batting average of .270, a .732 OPS (99 OPS+), 70 home runs and 328 RBIs in 856 games.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Verdugo in the second round of the 2014 draft out of high school. From 2016-19, he climbed the prospect ranks, featuring in most Top-100 lists annually. He played in the 2017 Futures Game, the same season he debuted with the Dodgers.

Yet Verdugo never made a postseason roster in Los Angeles. He slashed .308/.367/.478 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, a career-high 123 OPS+. The Dodgers won the World Series without him that October, then packaged him to Boston (along with Connor Wong and Jeter Downs) for Betts after the season.

Verdugo played four seasons with the Red Sox (2020-23), slashing a respectable .281/.338/.424, but never living up to the hype of his potential and the responsibility of replacing Betts in the Fenway Park outfield.

In a rare trade between the American League East rivals, the Yankees sent pitchers Richard Fitts and Greg Weissert to Boston for Verdugo in December 2023.

The Yankees made the World Series the following October, only to lose to the Dodgers in five games. Verdugo struck out against former teammate Walker Buehler for the final out of the series — and the season.

Verdugo is just three days shy of his 30th birthday, a time when many baseball players are still in their prime. After another disappointing exit, Verdugo will have to convince another team that he has plenty of hits left in his bat to get the chance to continue his continue.

“Do I think my story is done? Absolutely not,” Verdugo said to the San Diego Union-Tribune in March. “I just wanted to get back and just start playing again. So that’s why I took the deal here. And I’m not afraid of the work. I’m not afraid of the long days and the hard hours that we’re putting in. It’s been a blessing, man. I love this group. Everybody has been great with me.”

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow