The New York Yankees have agreed to bring back outfielder Brett Gardner on a one-year deal. Gardner has spent every season of his career in a Yankee uniform and will continue to do so in 2021.
Gardy gets $4M guarantee with Yankees. 1 year plus option.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 19, 2021
A relatively cheap deal for the Yankees as they never really wanted to lose Gardner. He's not the player he once was by any means but can fill a void in the outfield as the Yankees look to make a strong push in the American League East.
Gardner had just five homers and 15 RBI with a career-low .223 batting average in 49 games for the Yankees last season in the COVID-19 shortened season. The Yankees finished in 2nd place in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who went on to make the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Yankees signed Corey Kluber to upgrade their rotation and still have DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge leading the way on offense. The outfield for the Yankees will consist of Judge, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazer, Mike Tauchman, and Gardner with Giancarlo Stanton returning as the designated hitter.
The Yanks should once again compete for an AL East crown if they can find a way to surpass the Rays, although the departure of Snell might make things a bit easier. The Yankees lost to the Rays in the American League Division Series last year, and to be clear, the Bronx Bombers didn't get nearly as many clutch hits as they needed to overtake their division rivals in the postseason. Gardner has to do his part to give New York just enough offense to fight past the Rays and other American League contenders in October.
Gardner had one of his best seasons in 2019 when he smashed 28 homers and 74 RBI with a .251 average in 141 games, and if New York can get that production of him this year, then $4 million is a steal.
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