Alex Verdugo Released by Padres, Will Have Shoulder Surgery Without Playing a Single Game
Alex Verdugo’s 2026 season is over before it ever started. The San Diego Padres released the veteran outfielder Sunday, and he will undergo shoulder surgery later this week that will keep him out for the rest of the year.
Verdugo signed a one-year deal with the Padres last December that was supposed to be a bounce-back opportunity. He had a tough 2025 in New York and Atlanta. San Diego offered a soft landing spot, regular at-bats against right-handed pitching, and a chance to rebuild his market.
None of that happened. Verdugo never played in a regular-season game for the Padres. He felt soreness in his right shoulder during late spring training, was placed on the injured list to start the season, and was never able to ramp back up.
The Padres tried rest. They tried rehab. They tried a cortisone shot. Nothing held. Last week the team and Verdugo agreed surgery was the only path forward, and the release became inevitable.
For San Diego, this is a clean cut financially. Verdugo’s deal had a low base salary and most of it was tied up in incentives. The Padres are out a roster spot and a small amount of guaranteed money. That is it.
For Verdugo, this is a career inflection point. He is 30 years old. He has now had two consecutive seasons end with major question marks. The Yankees-to-Braves trade last summer never produced the version of him that was supposed to show up. The Padres deal was the safety net. The safety net has a hole in it now.
His free-agent market next winter is going to be a one-year, prove-it offer at best. Maybe minor league with an invite. Verdugo’s bat plays when he is healthy. He has never been a power hitter, and his game is built on contact, plate discipline, and average defense in a corner. Shoulder surgery on a bat-first outfielder is not a death sentence, but it is a setback.
The Padres still have a Verdugo-shaped hole in their outfield. Jurickson Profar has been platooning in left, but his bat has not been what San Diego paid for. Bryce Johnson is more of a fourth outfielder. The team that planned on Verdugo getting 400 at-bats this year is going to have to find them somewhere else.
A.J. Preller has historically been the most aggressive deadline operator in the league. This is the kind of opening that makes him pick up the phone in June, not July. The Padres need a left-handed outfield bat, and the trade market has options.
For Verdugo, the focus shifts to 2027 and whatever spring training invitation he can find. The Boston version of him from a few years ago feels a long way away.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
