New York Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo, who avenged his former team with a sensational multi-RBIs outing on June 14 at Fenway Park, is witnessing a career-worst slump in the second half of the 2024 MLB season. Verdugo’s numbers are dreadful, and a skin allergy from his batting gloves isn’t helping either.
However, after another hitless outing, Alex Verdugo insisted that he is healthy. Moreover, amid calls for immediate replacement with top minor league prospect Jasson Dominguez, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone shared his opinion on Verdugo’s future at the team, and he plans to use the outfield depth in September.
Aaron Boone To Back A Healthy Alex Verdugo Amid Career Worst Slump
Amid a career-worst season, New York Yankees skipper Aaron Boone has made it clear that he will continue to support Alex Verdugo. The left fielder went 0-for-4 against Guardians in a 6-0 finale win. Since June 14, he has been hitting .180 (38-for-211) with the lowest OPS of .501 by any hitter with more than 200 plate appearances. While Verdugo acknowledges his problem and vows to work through it, time is perhaps running out for him. The regular season has just five weeks left on the schedule, and the roster will expand on September 1, thus paving the way for Jasson Dominguez. Notably, Dominguez’s Tommy John surgery forced the Yanks to seek a left fielder during the off-season in the first place.
Hence, now that Alex Verdugo has slumped to an all-time career low, it only makes sense for the New York Yankees to bring back Jasson Dominguez and give him a taste of the majors. However, Aaron Boone still has some faith left in Verdugo. “It’s on us to make sure we lift him up and get him going because he is an important part of the length of our lineup,” Boone said. The skipper added that Alex is grinding hard and not being rewarded for his good at-bats. It’s just a phase that the team is looking to pass as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Verdugo also expressed optimism about the odds of a comeback. He is working on some adjustments behind the scenes and stated that a resurgence is close. “We gotta stay positive. It’s a grind, and it’s one of those things where we’re close,” Verdugo said.
Jazz Chisholm On The Cusp Of Unexpectedly Early Return To Yankees
A UCL injury generally requires Tommy John surgery for a position player. But for milder cases, 3-4 weeks is sufficient to regain match fitness. However, for New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr, 10 days is more than enough to recover from an elbow UCL injury. As per reports, Jazz is likely to be activated from IL on Friday.
The New York Yankees announced a corresponding roster move on Thursday to send down infield prospect Oswald Peraza to Triple-A. In all likelihood, the vacant space will be filled by Jazz Chisholm Jr as Aaron Boone earlier insisted that the slugger’s return is close. For the Yankees playoff pursuit, Jazz’s return is undoubtedly a massive boost.
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