The New York Yankees are currently going for their franchise's 28th World Series ring. Manager Aaron Boone took some time to acknowledge a familiar face missing from the Yankees clubhouse.
39-year-old Brett Gardner is not officially retired according to MLB. However, the veteran outfielder was not on any roster throughout the 2022 season.
Gardner made it clear following the 2021 season that he had only one team he wanted to play for. He hoped to open the season as a member of the Yankees.
“Right now, if I had to answer I hope I’m back in that (Yankees clubhouse) and I hope I’m in Tampa (for spring training) come February. But there’s obviously a long time between now and then. A lot of things need to get figured out. We’ll see what happens,” Gardner said after last season.
New York made a few different acquisitions throughout the season. They even made moves in the outfielder, moving on from Joey Gallo and trading for Harrison Bader. According to Boone, however, Gardner was under consideration.
“I guess he was always in play,” the Yankees manager said. “The offseason was weird obviously because of the lockout and I couldn’t talk to people. And then all of a sudden, it broke and free agency and everything happened so quick.”
Despite this, Boone had one more admission to make. While Gardner was considered, the Yankees manager actually hasn't reached out to the veteran outfielder recently.
“You know what? Unfortunately I have not talked to Gardy in a while,” Boone said. “It’s one of my regrets this year because I owe that to him.”
The Yankees were supposed to take on the Cleveland Guardians in a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 on Monday night. However, the league delayed the game to Tuesday night due to weather conditions.
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