Given his presence as a veteran left-handed veteran bat, one would imagine that Atlanta Braves outfielder Alex Verdugo would see considerable action against right-handed pitchers.
Evidently, those days might be over.
The Braves sat Verdugo on Tuesday despite the Milwaukee Brewers sending right-hander Quinn Priester to the mound. Verdugo only has six hits and a single RBI in his last 36 at-bats for the freefalling Braves.
Braves manager Brian Snitker is instead starting Eli White in left field. The 30-year-old White is also slumping, hitting a measly .206 with a .537 OPS since May 1.
Interestingly, Verdugo also didn't start against San Francisco Giants right-hander Landen Roupp in Sunday's 4-3 loss.
It's not a good sign for Verdugo, who looked like a steal in his first few weeks with the Braves, if he's now seeing limited action against right-handers. We'll see if the Braves opt to part ways with the experienced outfielder, who entered Tuesday hitting .247 with 11 RBI and a .613 OPS.
Either way, the Braves are likely to face some tough decisions over the next month. Atlanta is arguably baseball's most disappointing team at 28-37 and 13 1/2 games back in the NL East.
The Braves are nine games out of the NL Wild Card race and are on pace to miss the postseason for the first time since 2017.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!