Alex Verdugo approached Red Sox about long-term deal

FORT MYERS, FLA. >> Alex Verdugo is betting on himself this season.

He knows what the Red Sox want from him, and he’s confident enough to let the Red Sox know what he wants in return: A long-term deal. Monday was the first full day of spring training, and Verdugo approached Red Sox leadership and made it clear he wants to stay in Boston. According to multiple sources, Verdugo told the group, which included principal owner John Henry, that he’s prepared to prove he deserves a new contract.

Becoming an All-star for the first time is one way he pledged himself to the brass. Adjusting his diet and training to drop weight and come to camp lean was another.

It’s a bold approach, though a source also noted that this is what makes Verdugo the kind of player who fits well in Boston. “Brave” was the word used to describe the interaction.

Especially for the player Alex Cora singled out last fall as the one who needs to take the biggest step forward this season, and in more ways than one.

Acquired in the Mookie Betts trade almost exactly three years ago, Verdugo impressed immediately, albeit in the shortened 60-game 2020 season. He hit .308/.367/.478 over 53 games that first year, with 62 hits, including 16 doubles and six home runs.

Verdugo continued to perform well in his first full season in Boston, though he didn’t replicate his slugging percentage over the full 162game slate. Playing a career-high 146 games in 2021 (previous high was 106 in 2019), he hit a solid .289/.351/.426 with 157 hits, 32 doubles, two triples, and a career-high 13 home runs.

The Red Sox, projected to finish last in their division for the second consecutive season, not only made a surprise run to the Wild Card, but took their season all the way

his 17-game absence. He put the B’s up 1-0 at 15:09 with his 18th of the season. Brad Marchand beat Nikita Zaitsev in a puck battle in the right corner and got it to Debrusk in the circle. With Patrice Bergeron an option for a possible backdoor pass, Debrusk took it to the net himself. Goalie Kevin Mandolese made the first stop, but Debrusk scored off his own rebound for the 1-0 lead.

The B’s couldn’t get out of the first with it, however.

In the final minute, Matt Grzelcyk tried to drop the puck back to Charlie Mcavoy but a trailing Dylan Gambrell picked it off and fed Claude Giroux, who tucked it between Ullmark’s pads with 30 seconds left in the period. That would be the last puck to get by the Bruin goalie.

Much of the second period to the ALCS. Over the first 11 postseason games of his career, Verdugo hit .310/.383/.452 with 13 hits, three doubles, a home run, five walks, and three strikeouts.

Then, like many of the 2022 Red Sox, he struggled at the plate. He didn’t exactly take a step back, but it wasn’t a step forward, either. He set a new a careerhigh 152 games — which also led the team — but hit .280/.328/.405, struggling to hit for power or draw walks. Though he improved his strikeout rate significantly, down to 13.4% from 15.9% the year before, he only drew 42 walks, after collecting 51 free passes in fewer games in 2021.

He was in the 27th percentile for walk rate, 39th for Hardhit%, 31st for Barrel rate.

His defense was a different story. He ranked in the 13th percentile in Outs Above Average and was worth minus-4 defensive runs saved. His 26.8 feet/second Sprint Speed put him in the 37th percentile, and he dropped to

belonged to the goalies. Mandolese made a good stop on David Krejci on a backdoor play, but the save of the game came from Ullmark. Brady Tkachuk blew up Hampus Lindholm behind the B’s net and fed Gambrell in the slot, but Ullmark made a brilliant glove snare to keep the game even.

The B’s forged ahead with 2:54 left in the period. Pastrnak had scored just one goal in his previous six games and had not scored a 5-on-5 goal since the last-minute tally he notched in Florida on Jan. 28. But he picked up No. 40 off a nice play by Mcavoy. The defenseman made a pretty spin-o-rama move at the right point to lose his man and feed Pastrnak on the left dot. The sniper took a couple of steps to the bottom of the 360th in MLB, after ranking 300th the year before.

Verdugo will be a free agent in 2025. He and the team avoided arbitration this offseason, agreeing to a $6.3 million salary for the year. Still, the Red Sox made it clear that he’d taken a step backward last season.

With the departures of Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, both of whom received deals longer than a decade from other teams, the Red Sox have stated that they want to engage young players earlier to find mutually-beneficial extensions. They’ve already done so with Garrett Whitlock; the 26-year-old righty, whom they snatched from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft, begins his fouryear, $18.75 million extension (with a 2027-28 club option), this season.

Aside from Masataka Yoshida, the Japanese star who signed a five-year contract with the Red Sox this winter, there’s room in the outfield to retain Verdugo. Jarren Duran’s future is unclear, while Adam Duvall

circle and snapped it over Mandolese’s glove shoulder for the 2-1 lead heading into the third. It was a goalscorer’s goal.

And it was Pastrnak who finally gave the B’s a little breathing room with 7:50 left in the third period. As the B’s battled to get the puck out of their zone near the right point, Mcavoy eventually flipped it out from his knees, giving Pastrnak a clean breakaway. He threw a fake at Mandolese and calmly slid a backhander through the goalie’s pads to make it 3-1.

“Unbelievable plays on both goals of mine (from Mcavoy). Great job by Charlie,” said Pastrnak.

The win improved the B’s record to 43-8-5 as they head out on a trip that will take them to Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. They’ve now got

and Kiké Hernández are each signed for one year, with the latter shifting to the infield while Trevor Story rehabs after UCL surgery. Rob Refsnyder isn’t an everyday player, and Christian Arroyo will be covering a lot of second base this season. If ever there was a time for Verdugo to prove himself, it’s now.

When Cora singled Verdugo out in October, he expounded, “Yeah, he hit for average, but he can be a lot better baserunning, defensively.”

The tough love “pissed me off,” Verdugo said this week, “But everything pisses me off.” Still, he admitted, “They had reasons to talk, right?”

Turning 27 in May, and entering his seventh year in the majors, “He’s getting to that area in his career that’s, ‘Who is he gonna be?'” Cora questioned last fall.

On the first day of fullsquad workouts, Verdugo made it clear he’s ready to answer that question. And if he does, he’d like the Red Sox to answer back.

a whopping 15-point lead over the second-place Maple Leafs for the Atlantic Division and a nine-point bulge over the Hurricanes for the Presidents’ Trophy.

But the dash to the regular season finish line promises to be a challenge. They’ve got 15 games in March and a half dozen back-to-backs the rest of the way.

“We’re battling. It’s not going to be easy down the stretch,” said Krejci. “Everybody knows we’re on top of the league and everybody’s coming here and bringing their best, working their hardest. We have to be mentally ready because we know physically we can do it. But this time of year, it’s a mental battle.”

But there haven’t been many battles this year for which the B’s have not been ready.