Alex Verdugo Facing Backlash After Costly Blunder vs. Red Sox

Alex Verdugo, since signing a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves on March 20, has been a fixture of the Braves’ lineup.

Hitting .264 with a .662 OPS, Verdugo has been a reliable presence at the plate, but has yet to discover his power stroke. Verdugo has gone homerless in 106 at-bats, putting him among the longest homerless streaks in baseball.

Verdugo, formerly an outfielder for the Yankees, has been well-appreciated for his elite arm strength, which adds value to his defense.

At times, having such a strong arm can be more of a curse, and Verdugo showed why on Saturday.

Facing the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, a stadium Verdugo is very familiar with, Verdugo fielded an RBI single by Rafael Devers. 

With Ceddanne Rafaela about to cross home plate, Verdugo puzzingly threw home, which allowed Devers to advance to second.

Devers would score on Alex Bregman’s double, something that wasn’t guaranteed with his speed had he stayed at first.  

Verdugo was also gunned down by Jarren Duran trying to score on a Matt Olson single in the sixth inning, but that was more a fault of third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo sending him than Verdugo himself.

The Braves would fall 7-6 to the Red Sox on a walk-off home run by Devers in the ninth inning despite leading 6-2 into the bottom of the seventh, where they had a 93.6% chance of victory.

Shoutout Alex Verdugo for throwing the ball home on a play he had no chance on. Allowed Devers to move up to second for free and scored off the Bregman double

Glad to see his game hasn’t changed at all since he left Boston pic.twitter.com/FUUyAqaKlt

— 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 (@WallyEatsCats) May 18, 2025

One fan on X wrote: “Shoutout Alex Verdugo for throwing the ball home on a play he had no chance on. Allowed Devers to move up to second for free and scored off the Bregman double. 

“Glad to see his game hasn’t changed at all since he left Boston.”

Related: Alex Verdugo’s Three-Word Message Sparks Yankees Speculation

Related: Former Yankees $22 Million Bust Could Finally Find New Home

Related: Braves Facing Alex Verdugo Decision After Jurickson Profar Suspension