FORT MYERS, Fla. -- On the final day of a hugely disappointing 2022 season, Alex Cora was asked if any players on the roster were positioned to take a leap forward in 2023. Before the reporter could complete the question, Cora had his answer already formed.
"Alex,'' said Cora without hesitation, citing outfielder Alex Verdugo.
But it wasn't exactly a fully complimentary response. While Cora spoke of Verdugo's potential for a higher ceiling, he also noted some areas in which the outfielder underachieved.
"Yeah, he hit for average, but he can be a lot better baserunning, defensively,'' the manager said. "He's getting to that area in his career that's, 'Who's he going to be?'
And then Cora, somewhat subtly, suggested that Verdugo wasn't always in the best shape.
"We're going to push him hard to get back to playing faster, to playing quicker,'' said Cora. "I think this is a guy who we envision to be an impact player. ... I do believe he can be a lot better. A lot better.''
The words came as a wake-up call to Verdugo, who admitted earlier this spring that Cora's remarks initially surprised and somewhat angered him.
But with less than a week to go before Opening Day, it seems as though Cora's comments may have had their intended effect. On Thursday, as he spoke about the lineup's potential, Cora singled out Verdugo -- in a positive way.
"I've been saying all along, and this is not putting pressure on the guy,'' Cora said, "but I think the guy we saw playing right field for Mexico? Yeah. He's in a good spot. He's in a great spot. Physically, mentally, he's up to the challenge. I think Dugie, when he's locked in the way he is right now, is a game-changer.''
"I didn't see it or hear about it,'' said Verdugo, when the comments were relayed to him. "But yeah, just you telling me, it makes me feel good. But at the same time, this is spring training. I want to do it for 162 (games). I want to go out there, play hard, play a little bit faster and insert myself into whatever it may be. If it's going first to third, scoring a run from second, digging down the line ... I want to impact the game more than I did last year.''
The positives from a year ago? That would include playing in a team-best 152 games, swatting 39 doubles and regularly putting the ball in play (he had a modest 86 strikeouts, which translated into a 6.5 percent strikeout rate).
But Verdugo had just 11 homers and his OPS+ was 102, suggesting the production of an average major leaguer -- no more, no less.
There's more there, and Verdugo is eager to demonstrate that.
"There's a lot of different ways to help your team,'' he said. "If you're not doing it at the plate for one game, you can do it on defense. If you're on the bases, then find a way to take that extra base, or steal a base or read a dirt ball. There's things you can do in every aspect, and that's kind of where I'm trying to get myself at. Take care of myself better, feel better on a daily basis, and I expect more from myself.''
In perhaps a measure of the increased confidence the team has in Verdugo, Cora has talked about having him hit leadoff against righthanded pitching, as was the case Friday night.
That's fine with Verdugo, although he doubts it will impact him in a big way.
"Wherever I'm at in the lineup, it shouldn't really impact the way I approach an at-bat,'' he said. "It really doesn't matter to me. Being in the lineup is a blessing in itself. Wherever I am is where I am. You just get more at-bats. On days you feel good, you get more ABs; on days you don't feel as good, you're still getting the same amount of ABs. For me, I've hit first in the minors, I hit first in 2020. To me, it's more of a mindset, more than anything. You have to embrace it, you have to go in and understand that you have five or so ABs in a game, and don't get too caught up on one or the other,
"You're working at-bats. If you get a hit the first time up, you're already setting the tone. But I also think, another thing is, you're working at-bats, you're working the pitcher, you're seeing pitches. If you get him to throw more of his off-speed pitches, that's a win as well. You want to get starters throwing every one of his pitches and that way, (your teammates) can see them all, They get the opportunity to see everything and find out what's on that day. I know a lot of pitchers like to work with their fastball for the first part of the lineup and then they start introducing stuff. If I can get them throwing more off-speed pitches earlier, it's probably better for us.''
As he awaits the start of the season, Verdugo is still riding the emotional wave of playing for Team Mexico in the WBC. Mexico reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual champion, Team Japan, and Verdugo was uplifted by the whole experience.
"It was amazing, man,'' said Verdugo. "I had a lot of fun. You can't really describe it. You just feel like you're a little kid again and playing. It felt a little bit different than playing (in the MLB postseason). I feel like, when it's your country, it's different. And I also think that, where it falls in the year, you're fresh. When we play in the postseason, we've already played 162, and you're running on pure adrenaline. (With the WBC), you feel physically stronger. You've been away from the game for a few months, and you miss it. It was more amplified than the postseason, for me.
"The postseason, I was dialed up and locked in. But with this, the adrenaline was so much more in the WBC. It beats playing games at jetBlue in front of a few thousand. Any time you get a chance to play in front of sold-out stadiums, with 40-50,000, that gets you going.''