"Lighting money on fire": Yankees fans not thrilled with Alex Verdugo's $8,700,000 deal with team to avoid arbitration

The New York Yankees have settled on their outfield acquisitions of Alex Verdugo (from the Boston Red Sox) and Juan Soto (from the San Diego Padres). The latter broke the record for a single-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player. Soto and the Yankees agreed to a one-year, $31 million salary ahead of the MLB Arbitration Deadline on Thursday.

However, Yankees fans weren't quite happy with the club settling for a one-year, $8.7 million deal with Alex Verdugo. Verdugo was acquired by the Red Sox, who got three pitchers in return from the Yankees. Per Mark Feinsand, the club settled with the former All-Star ahead of the deadline, including a $50,000 performance bonus.

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Fans shared their reactions on X, formerly Twitter, with many not happy with the settlement:

"Huge overpay," one fan said.

"LOL, Yankees out here lighting money on fire," another fan shared.

Here are a few other fan reactions:

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On Feb. 9, 2020, Verdugo, along with Jeter Downs and Connor Wong, were traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts and David Price.

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Alex Verdugo's stint with Red Sox

Verdugo batted .308 with six home runs and 15 RBIs in 53 games in 2020 for the Red Sox. Verdugo had the lowest fielding percentage of any qualified major league outfielder, at .959.

He batted .289 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs in 146 regular-season games for Boston in 2021. He also batted .310 in 11 postseason games as the Red Sox advanced to the American League Championship Series.

In 2022, in 150 games, he batted .280 with 11 home runs and 74 RBIs. In 142 games in 2023, Alex Verdugo batted .264 with 144 hits, 13 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 81 runs scored.

Now with the Yankees, he needs to prove his worth, or else he won't get the demand in free agency next offseason.

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