When the New York Yankees declined to make a qualifying offer to shortstop Didi Gregorius, it looked as though the two sides would be moving on this winter.
However, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com says that the Yankees should remain in contact with Gregorius even as they allow him to test the market:
In the wake of the American League Championship Series loss to the Astros, Gregorius said that his preference would be to stay, but thus far every indication has been that the Yankees will allow him to test free agency while they prioritize the pursuit of starting pitching. Cashman is remaining in contact with Gregorius’ agent, Jim Murray, so a potential reunion is still on the table.
Gregorius became the successor to Derek Jeter when the legendary Yankees shortstop retired after the 2014 season. He has had a respectable five-year run in New York, slashing .269/.313/.446 with 97 homers and a 101 OPS+. Gregorius finished in the top 20 in American League MVP voting in both 2017 and 2018.
However, the 29-year-old struggled in 2019. After missing the first half of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Gregorius slashed .238/.276/.441 with an 87 OPS+. He had a great series against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, but came up short against the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
The Yankees have a plethora of options in the infield next season. They could just as easily move Gleyber Torres to shortstop and shift D.J. LeMahieu over to his natural second base position. The returning Miguel Andujar could move to first base, allowing Gio Urshela to remain at the hot corner.
Still, depth was a clear strength of the 2019 Yankees, and Cashman could look to bring Gregorius back into the fold on a team-friendly deal.
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