Alex Cora Looks Back On Alex Verdugo’s Red Sox Run: ‘I Learned A Lot’

Outfielder Alex Verdugo crossed enemy lines this offseason, getting traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees to end a four-year run in Boston.

The 27-year-old joined the Red Sox as Boston’s centerpiece return in the 2020 Mookie Betts trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Verdugo slid in as the go-to right fielder in Boston, but after three last-place finishes in the past four seasons, the Red Sox elected to go in a different direction heading into 2024.

Along for the ride that was the Verdugo experience, Red Sox manager Alex Cora looked back on the seven-year veteran’s time in Boston.

“I learned a lot dealing with Alex,” Cora told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on Audacy’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “The vision, the way he goes about it is a little bit different, but one thing he does, he posts. He plays. And that’s very important, not only now but in the past too.”

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Verdugo was in search of the breakout season the Red Sox envisioned would come over the course of 2023. In 29 games to begin the year, Verdugo batted .308 while flashing some pop with four home runs, six doubles and 17 RBIs. Yet, the power factor never fully came into play — a constant trend throughout Verdugo’s run in a Boston uniform.

Finishing the year at 142 games played, Verdugo hit just 13 home runs while driving in 54 RBIs, mostly used in the leadoff spot of the lineup.

“The one thing that I still believe that he needs to do to become the player that we all envisioned in the past is get back to hitting lefties. And I do believe he can hit lefties,” Cora mentioned. “And for some reason the last two (seasons), he didn’t. In ’22, there was a lot of groundballs, they attacked him different, a lot of two-seamers. He hit lefties in ’20, right? … I do believe that’s the next step for Dugie.”

Verdugo had his highs and lows in Boston. From helping the Red Sox fall just two wins shy of a World Series appearance in 2021 to getting benched twice in 2023 for conduct reasonings, it was a rather bumpy ride.

Set to rock New York pinstripes next season, a change of scenery could be what Verdugo needs to unleash a career-best campaign.