Ex-Red Sox Polarizing Outfielder Off To Scorching Start With Braves

One former member of the Boston Red Sox is a man on a mission right now.

Boston traded outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees ahead of the 2024 season and he had the toughest season of his career so far. Verdugo played solid defense, but his bat struggled and he finished the season with a .233/.291/.356 slash line to go along with 13 homers and 61 RBIs in 149 games played. This was way off from the first seven seasons of his big league career as he slashed .281/.337/.428 across his first 651 games played.

Verdugo entered free agency after the season ended and remained available for months. He didn't sign a deal until March 20th when he landed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves. Verdugo started the year off in the minors as he worked up after missing most of Spring Training but has been promoted and is shining right now.

The 28-year-old has appeared in 10 games so far in his young Braves career and is slashing .341/.396/.455 with six RBIs, four walks, five doubles, and six runs scored. The Braves needed a boost in the outfielder with Ronald Acuña Jr. still out and Jurickson Profar getting suspended for violating the league's performance enchancing drugs policy

He had an up-and-down stint in Boston after being the center piece of the team's trade to send Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It looks like he's figured something out so far in Atlanta.