Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo Explains Outfield Meeting With Chaim Bloom

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo has been in the spotlight for the right and wrong reasons this season.

Verdugo gained notable attention again last week when he was spotted having an extended conversation on the right field grass at Fenway Park with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom fresh off the Houston Astros handing Boston a three-game series sweep.

There was plenty of speculation of what Verdugo and Bloom discussed and Verdugo looked to set the record straight when chatting with WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast.

“That was more like a personal just catch-up. That wasn’t really anything,” Verdugo told Bradford. “We weren’t talking business, talking anything like that. It was just catching up, seeing how everybody was doing, family.”

Verdugo added: “It was family day. I was there. He just wanted to ask me about some things with my family. It was nothing crazy.”

Verdugo also said there have been no contract talks yet between him and the Red Sox. The 27-year-old, who was the centerpiece the Red Sox got in return from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the trade of Mookie Betts, has one year left of arbitration before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

Verdugo’s future with the Red Sox is cloudy. He has had strong moments this season, coming through with walk-off hits while batting .278 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs on the season. But on the flip side, he’s been benched on a couple of occasions this year by manager Alex Cora.

While Verdugo expressed a desire to remain with the Red Sox for the foreseeable future, he understands plenty hinges on next season.

“We’ve waited this long and I only have one more year of arbitration before I’m a free agent. So, next year I think will be a big thing,” Verdugo said. “We’ll see what happens at the trade deadline. I think there’s a lot of variables that are up for next year. For me, I’m just going to be proud and happy wearing the Red Sox uniform as long as I can. And hopefully that time is not coming to an end soon.”