Verdugo looking to grow after Red Sox season leaves 'bad taste in the mouth'

Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo wants things to go differently next season after not always performing at his best during a trying 2023 campaign.

"It was an OK year. I think it was just OK," Verdugo told The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.

"There's a really good side, and there's a really bad side. I'll probably be focused more on the struggles and the downside of it and just kind of use that to train a little bit differently … the way I finished and the way we kind of finished was just a little bad taste in the mouth."

Verdugo got off to a hot start in the first half of the season, posting an .817 OPS with 26 doubles and 38 RBIs before struggling after the All-Star break. Manager Alex Cora also benched Verdugo on two occasions - once for not hustling during a game in May and the other for arriving late to the ballpark in August.

The 27-year-old pointed to his body breaking down and off-field distractions contributing to his poor second half but added that he wouldn't use either as an excuse for how he or the Red Sox played.

"I've had a lot of family stuff, family issues going on, and just personal life things that have happened," Verdugo said.

"I'm not here to read out my sob story, but at the end of the day, I am still a human. I'm still a person. When your family is affected, when your family's not doing the best, it weighs on you. But at the same time, I'm a professional. I've gotta go out there and handle our job and do what we have to do. My mind has been in a lot of different places."

Verdugo enters the offseason as a potential trade candidate for the Red Sox, who have the outfielder under contract for one more season before he hits free agency.

The Arizona native, a big part of the trade return for Mookie Betts in 2020, owns a .281/.338/.424 slash line with 43 homers, 124 doubles, and 206 RBIs in four campaigns in Boston.