Former Dodgers Outfielder Shockingly Cut By NL Rival

Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Alex Verdugo has been designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves.

The move is to make room for the return of outfielder Jurickson Profar, who has been reinstated by MLB after serving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs just four games into his tenure with Atlanta.

More news: Dodgers' Max Muncy Could Be 'Hot Commodity' in Free Agency, Says Insider Verdugo was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

He would be seen as a top prospect for the Dodgers for the next few seasons, entering the 2019 campaign as the top prospect in the pipeline for L.A.

Verdugo was held to the same regard as eventual World Series MVP Corey Seager, eventual league MVP Cody Bellinger, eventual World Series hero Walker Buehler, and other current MLB veterans who were prospects crossing paths with the outfielder.

Although the 2017 and 2018 seasons saw handfuls of appearances by Verdugo, 2019 is where a majority of his playing time would begin for the Dodgers, hitting .294 in 106 games.

His OPS+ of 113 put him just under 15 percent higher than the average qualified player at the time.

That fateful 2019 campaign would be cut short due to an oblique strain suffered in early August, but it also proved to be the final year for the outfielder in a Dodgers uniform.

More news: Dodgers World Series Champion Joins NL West Rival in Shocking Move Verdugo was traded ahead of the 2020 season in a package that got superstar Mookie Betts to Los Angeles.

The shortened 2020 season saw more incredible production from Verdugo, hitting .308 with an OPS+ about 20 percent higher than league average and even finishing 12th in MVP voting that year.

Across Verdugo's four seasons in Boston, he hit .281/.338/.424 with a .732 OPS.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Verdugo was once again a casualty of an offseason trade, this time heading to the New York Yankees.

He would eventually match up against his old Dodgers team in the Fall Classic, only for his squad to lose to L.A.

in five games.

Verdugo had his worst offensive output in Pinstripes since he was a rookie, batting .233 with a below-average OPS+ of 83.

The offseason consisted of a lot of waiting for the outfielder before signing with the Atlanta Braves in mid-March, only to be let go before the All-Star break and forced to find a new team to call home once again.

More news: Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow Won't Return As Soon As Team Hoped For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI..

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