Twins' Joey Gallo gets brutally honest on his run with Yankees

Minnesota Twins outfielder Joey Gallo did not have much to go his way during his run with the New York Yankees in the 2022 season.

Gallo opened up the campaign as the Yankees’ go-to starter out at left field. He lost his starting left field job later in the first half of the season amid his vast struggles at the plate. He was also a regular in the trade rumor mill, and although he was linked with the likes of the Texas Rangers and the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately pulled the trigger on a move for him, acquiring him ahead of last year’s MLB trade deadline.

Gallo ended up recording a .159 batting average and an OPS+ of 77 in 82 regular season games played with the Yankees in the 2022 campaign. Amid his roller-coaster tenure with the Yankees, the two-time All-Star began to question his love for the game.

“I think every baseball player at some point is like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this s**t anymore,'” Gallo told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “It’s a tough game.”

Gallo was well aware that his name was a regular in the trade rumor mill, and he also “knew” that his run with the Yankees would soon come to an end.

“I tried to handle it well,” Gallo said. “I took pride in the fact that I still played. I was still diving for the Yankees, running into walls for the Yankees, running hard for the Yankees.

“I knew I was getting traded. But I still had the pride, the integrity for the game, the respect for the fans, respect for the organization. I’m still going to go out here and bust my a**. I’m not going to just cash it in.”

Gallo decided to take his talents to the Twins during the offseason, signing off on a one-year, $11 million deal in December. He is now hoping to make the most out of his upcoming run with the American League Central club.

“The Minnesota market is different than the New York market,” Gallo said. “The Texas market is different than the New York market. I always just wanted to play baseball, have fun, hang out with the boys.

“That’s my goal, just to play baseball and win games. I don’t really like it being more than that. I guess this is more my vibe, you know what I mean?”

Gallo is slated to take hold of the starting left field role for Minnesota this year.