Alex Verdugo hopes to be a Yankee next season despite a down year offensively

Alex Verdugo was blunt about his first – and possibly only – season as a Yankee.

“I know it wasn’t my best personal year offensively,” the soon-to-be free agent said before the Yankees’ do-or-die World Series Game 5 in The Bronx against the Dodgers.

When the Yankees season ends, this could also be Verdugo’s last game in pinstripes. He hopes that isn’t the case, though it seems likely he could play elsewhere if the Yankees can bring back Juan Soto.

“I think there’s a possibility that maybe one day we can come back. If it’s not next year, it might be another year,” the 28-year-old outfielder said. “But I would like to come back and just show what type of player I really am. I think we’ve seen it defensively, sometimes offensively, but I’m usually a lot more consistent.”

Indeed, Verdugo posted a regular season slashline of .233/.291/.356 with a .647 OPS in 149 games. The only time in his career he was worse offensively was his rookie year with the Dodgers in 2017, and that was in just fifteen games.

After being traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees in the offseason, Verdugo started off incredibly well. He produced an .867 OPS in April, but his numbers lagged from there.

He lost playing time in September when the Yankees gave top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez a look in left field. Ultimately, they went with Verdugo in the playoffs because of his defense, and even though he was hitting just .200 on Wednesday, he had driven in seven runs with some key at-bats in big spots — four in the last two games.

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“He had a period where he struggled a little bit, but he can hit,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like he’s had a lot of big at-bats for us here in the postseason and continued the great defense.”

Whatever happens, Verdugo will fondly remember this year in The Bronx. He reached the World Series for the first time and felt connected to some of his teammates. Personally, of course, it could have been better, but overall it was everything he could have asked for.

“Honestly, it was great. Man, it was really cool,” Verdugo said. “We’ve been working through some things. But as far as the teammates and being with the guys, it’s my favorite team I’ve ever played for. I really enjoyed it.”