Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo feeling '100 percent'
New Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo wouldn't have been ready for the start of Opening Day this season due to a back injury, but with the Major League Baseball 2020 campaign on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seems like Verdugo may be ready to go.
The 23-year-old would've been out of the Red Sox lineup for a majority of April, but he now says he's feeling 100 percent and his back injury will not inhibit him from taking the field when the season begins... whenever that may be.
Verdugo was acquired by the Red Sox in the deal that sent right fielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Verdugo won't be able to fill the hole that Betts left in right field, he probably is a better option than most of who were available at the time of the trade.
Verdugo averaged .294 at the plate with 101 hits, 44 RBIs and 12 home runs in 2019 with a 3.2 wins above replacement... which isn't that bad.
Now, he wasn't originally scheduled to get the start in right field, so the Sox went out and signed Kevin Pillar to fill that role while Verdugo recovered from his injury. But with Verdugo seemingly ready to go, we could see Pillar play a variety of roles in the outfield when the season begins.
While Pillar is more established than Verdugo, that's obviously not going to determine how interim manager Ron Roenicke goes about deciding his lineup in the coming months. It's going to come down to who's playing better and who's giving it their all.
Verdugo being ready for the season is a good sign for the Red Sox, although the batting and fielding isn't necessarily an issue... they need pitching, but that's a story for another day.
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