New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo is reportedly allergic to his own tattoos.
Verdugo, very noticeably, has sleeves of tattoos covering both of his arms. The work includes a healthy amount of imagery of roses that cover both of his forearms, and a large compass near his right elbow.
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Verdugo is is apparently allergic to the chemicals cobalt and chromat, his doctor told NJ Advance Media. Those chemicals are in Verdugo’s tattoos as well as his batting gloves. Cobalt, which is found in most color dyes, is in Verdugo’s tattoos, while chromat, which is used for curing leather, is found in his personal batting gloves.
This combination has caused Verdugo problems in his hands since 2021.
“My hands hurt,” Verdugo told NJ Advance Media. “They blister. Then it opens and starts scabbing. It’s like super dry skin. I’ve been dealing with this since they started barking in ‘21.”
This condition culminated in the Yankees recently sending the struggling outfielder to an allergist to determine the issue. The doctor told Verdugo of his allergies to his gloves. The lefty was reportedly “flabbergasted” in response to the news.
Verdugo’s gloves are made by the sports equipment retailer Franklin Sports. Franklin’s senior director of baseball operations, John Ballas, said his company would fix the issue.
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“It’s something that’s never come up before, but I’m hoping that we have an answer soon,” Ballas said. “It’s good that Alex finally figured out what he’s allergic to, because this has been going on for a while. The next step is, I have my people looking into exactly what goes into the leather. Once we get the final determination, I’ll figure out how we can make something for Alex that won’t give him an allergic reaction.”
Verdugo is also looking into taking Dupixent shots.
“I’ve had this for three years,” he said. “That’s long enough.”
Verdugo is batting .235 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI for the Yankees this season after being traded to New York from the rival Red Sox over the winter. He started much better, hitting .266 with a .757 OPS and nine homers through June 14, but since then he’s only hitting .195 with a .533 OPS and one homer.
In Boston, he was statistically a much better player, but his seasons followed a similar pattern. He hit .281 with a .761 OPS over four seasons, but his batting average dropped each year in Boston. He hit .264 in 2023, which was the lowest of his career since he was a bench player with the Dodgers in 2018.
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