FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Alex Verdugo was the primary piece coming back to the Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts and David Price. Though the trade took six days to complete and had two iterations -- one with a third team, one without -- Verdugo was always the centerpiece.
But the outfielder also comes with some considerable baggage attached.
For one thing, coaches and teammates with the Dodgers had to reprimand Verdugo for his sometimes indifferent attitude and poor work habits.
Far more seriously, Verdugo, while in the minor leagues, was at one point in the same Arizona hotel room where a sexual assault is alleged to have taken place. Some reports had Verdugo present at the time of the assault; others indicate that it happened after he left.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom insisted that the Red Sox did their due diligence on the matter.
"I don't think it would be appropriate for us to into a ton of detail on that specific incident,'' said Bloom, in announcing the oft-delayed, reconfigured deal Monday night. "The due diligence process there was extensive. Obviously, that's a topic you take very seriously, as everybody should.
"We researched it very thoroughly. At the end of the day, we would not have moved forward with the acquisition if we had found anything disqualifying.''
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