Former Dodgers Outfielder Alex Verdugo Hopes to Pitch One Day for Boston

Former Dodgers’ prospect Alex Verdugo is having a strange first couple of weeks with Boston. What started out with some internet hate since he has not been able to play has turned into something else entirely. As it turns out, Alex Verdugo would love to get back to pitching one day.

Alex Verdugo career high school pitching stats: 2.19 ERA, 401 Ks, 15 complete games, 246 IP??? pic.twitter.com/pJNoaQTZYm

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— @Glovelove.co (@RussKontos) April 28, 2019

There are several well-known players that have had success at the major league level as a two-way player (*cough cough* Russell Martin). While it’s not totally unheard of, it does seem strange to hear from someone as offensively gifted as Verdugo. Players like Shohei Ohtani and Michael Lorenzen are two guys who have certainly had success. 

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But generally speaking, offensive players often try to pitch as a way to get back to the major leagues. More often than not, it happens when a players’ value as a hitter is in decline. So far in decline that they use it as a last-ditch effort to make it back. But for Alex Verdugo, it just sounds fun. 

I would be like a little kid again. Just playing ball again. Driving to the games or the tournaments, that was cool coming out of center field to go throw one inning … just try to freakin’ blow up the doors, and after that, I go back to center and we have another guy come in.

This doesn’t come entirely out of left field, so to speak. Verdugo was once a highly touted pitching prospect, but the Dodgers felt that his offensive potential far outweighed his pitching potential. Alex offers a great insight into what that could do for a player.

Any time you go 0-for-3 or 0-for-4 and then, just come in one inning and just blow up hitters? That’s how you get out your steam. That’s how you get out your anger. Not like throwing or slamming anything. It’s just like, dude, let me go strike somebody out. And if I get racked, too, on the mound, that’s a tough day at the office!

Whatever his reasoning, it will be interesting to see what the Red Sox are able to do with such a talented player. The Dodgers traded Alex Verdugo to Boston in the deal that brought Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles in February. 

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