Alex Verdugo is Ready for Opening Day
Future Red Sox superstar (we hope) Alex Verdugo says he ready to roll sooner than expected and should be back by opening day; if we ever get there.
Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo says he is “100% healthy… ready to go once baseball starts.” pic.twitter.com/axTP8rAJZh
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) May 4, 2020
Apparently, Verdugo’s back fracture has healed up quickly with the extra R&R from the COVID-19 outbreak and he is excited to get his Boston career started.
We know the feeling. pic.twitter.com/fepM6twUfg
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 4, 2020
We Miss you Baseball
The KBO notwithstanding, the return of MLB baseball would be pretty nice. The excitement from Alex is also very welcome!
But there is a part of me that hopes the season is cancelled so Mookie never dons Dodger blue. Even so, the part that desperately wants any sort of baseball to return is MUCH greater.
Could a Star Be Born in 2020?
Verdugo was among the next big things in LA. Now they have other, bigger things.
A ball of energy on the field, the Tuscon, AZ h native .294 with a .817 OPS in 2019. As the 35th ranked prospect in the MLB, Verdugo was tops in the Dodgers system before the trade.
He doesn’t have much power yet, but at only 23, there is still room to fill out and add some pop to a swing that can spray line drives all over the field. Verdugo is a disciplined hitter, and recorded a strikeout rate in the top 7% in the MLB in 2019, according to statcast.
So far, Verdugo hit at an about average rate for his career. Also, he is a solid but unspectacular fielder. Verdugo was half as valuable as Mookie Betts in 2019 according to baseball reference WAR.
Did you notice? I can’t separate Verdugo from Betts.
Here’s to hoping the trade return for the second best player in baseball is as good as advertised. If all goes well, the Red Sox have a projected star on their hands, even though that star may be a couple years away.
Pushing Past Obstacles
“I play 100 percent,” he said. “I go all out. I think the good thing is seeing when I was hurt, I was having trouble sleeping because I had pain in my back. I was having trouble moving, bending over, putting socks on. It’s like, you go from that to healing yourself and the mental grind of going through physical pain every day, but then you start realizing, the more you push through these boundaries, your body gets better, it adjusts, it adapts and it overcomes any obstacle you put it through.”
Here is to hoping he can overcome the obstacle in his way now. The immense expectations left by a Mookie sized performer in the middle of the Red Sox lineup is another obstacle for Vergugo to conquer.
Certainly, the trade still hurts. It has been a rough year for Boston sports trades. Maybe this is karma for the years of relentless winning?
Anyways, let’s see what the kid can do (or anyone on a baseball diamond…please!)
-Brent Buckley (@bigbucksbuckley on the twitter)