Alex Verdugo has some great shoes to fill after trading places with Mookie Betts. Just do not tell that to Alex Verdugo.
The Red Sox right-handed fielder was the only major league player to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to Boston in their offseason trade for Betts and David Price.
Given that he and Betts play the same position, it’s natural to ask how Verdugo feels about taking over for one of the best right fielder in Red Sox history.
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But after hitting two home points and robbing a Blue Jays long ball in Boston’s 5-3 victory over Toronto on Friday, the 24-year-old did not want to hear his name along with Betts.
“I will not replace him,” Verdugo told reporters, via Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. “Yes, he played here, but this is a game. This is a business. He decided to go somewhere else. I will not replace him. That is what you say: that is what everyone else says.
“I go out and play right field. I play my game. I do not think of Mookie.”
Verdugo considers Betts a “great player” who “will do a lot” for the Dodgers. But the four-year-old outfielder already seems tired of the comparison with his predecessor.
“It’s not a similar thing. I do not like to compare,” Verdugo said. “I do not like it when people raise it, but of course the nature of the trade, it will happen. People will say it.
“I’m going to play my game, I’m going to go out and participate and bring the energy I’re bringing. That’s the way I’ve always been and I don ‘t care about filling shoes, sort of. I’m playing my game.
Verdugo actually plays with an energy that is rare in Major League Baseball, and his stats so far match that energy: He hits .294 with three home points, four RBIs and a .297 OPS over 11 games with the Red Sox.
Of course, Betts enjoyed a stronger start for the Dodgers: .307 with three homers, seven RBIs and a .983 OPS. But do not mention those numbers to Verdugo, who defines his own legacy instead of trying to deal with the blow of Boston’s franchise cornerstone.
