Dodgers’ Alex Verdugo Oversleeps And Shows Up Late

The Dodgers seem to now be playing with the lineup that they will use in the postseason; however, one position that they are still trying to solidify is left field. There is currently a battle going on between Andre Ethier, Curtis Granderson, Kiké Hernandez, Joc Pederson, and Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo has not had many opportunities since he got called up, and he won’t have many more if he makes more mistakes like the one that he made on Friday. Andy McCullough of the LA Times tweeted that Alex Verdugo showed up late on Friday because he overslept.

Dave Roberts spoke with Alex Verdugo, who showed up late today. Verdugo said he overslept. Roberts told him it couldn't happen again.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) September 16, 2017

Since making his debut on September 1st, Verudgo has 3 hits in just 16 at-bats, with one of those hits being a home run. His slash line is just .188/.278/.653 so far, but this small sample size does not reflect his true potential.

This year with the OKC Dodgers, Alex Verdugo was absolutely impressive with a slash line of .314/.389/.436. Even more impressive is that he had more 52 walks compared to his 50 strikeouts.

So the talent is there, but oversleeping and showing up late is definitely not a good look. Granted, he’s a rookie and is going to make mistakes. However, since he is competing for a role in the postseason it seems like mistakes like these are a bit more amplified. Dave Roberts has shown that he is a very understanding coach and cares very deeply about his players, but even he made sure to let Verdugo know that it couldn’t happen again.

Hopefully Alex Verdugo gets some more opportunities moving forward and can prove that he is capable of helping out the team in October.