Through May 19 of last year, which was the day Jacoby Ellsbury sprained his knee swinging at a pitch in Washington (yes, you read that correctly), Ellsbury and Brett Gardner were the most dynamic one-two punch in baseball. Since that day, Yankees fans have been asking themselves when we would see the two speedsters produce at a high level again.
Ellsbury has had two very up-and-down seasons with the Yankees after making a name for himself in Boston. Ellsbury is never going to live up to the $153 million contract he signed before the ’14 season, but if you’re looking for somebody to blame for that atrocity of a contract then look no further than Brian Cashman. I am a firm believer that the decision to sign Ells was a direct reaction to Robinson Cano taking his talents to the great northwest, which makes it even more of a disgrace.
As fans we have to try not to blame the player for how much money he makes. It is hard, but who among us would turn down that kind of dough? The frustrating aspect of Jacoby Ellsbury’s game is that we have seen him produce – at a high level – in pinstripes. In August of 2014 he posted a .905 OPS as the team clawed to get into the playoff race, and he often battled through bumps and bruises during the season. He was signed to be the Yankees leadoff hitter but batted third the majority of the time because the team needed him to.
Through the day he injured himself while swinging last year (again, you did not misread that) he had a .412 OBP and was leading the league in hits. One could argue that his stat sheet actually matched his paycheck. We didn’t see Ells again until July 8, and from there he only posted a .224 average and a .601 OPS – in other words, he was barely producing at a replacement player level.
The icing on the cake for Jacoby came in the Wild Card playoff game when Girardi elected to sit the $153M center fielder in a must-win game. I don’t think that is what Cashman and the Steinbrenner’s had in mind when they handed Ellsbury the sixth largest contract in team history, but his injuries and production warranted the move. After popping-out in a pinch hitting appearance and dipping-out of media questions postgame, Ellsbury and the Yankees were done for 2015.
Brett Gardner is in a different, but equally frustrating situation. Gardy is a home-grown Yankee which automatically buys him some extra slack, but the trend of him fading in the second half of each season has become old.
Gardner has been around since the ’08 season, and is on a very short list of mid-2000’s home-grown positional players who have amounted to All Stars – Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera*, and Brett Gardner…that’s it. Seriously, why do you think we’re so excited about Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jorge Mateo, and Gary Sanchez?
What started off as an All Star season for Gardner in 2015, ended the same way his previous seasons had – disappointing and banged-up. After Ellsbury went down, Gardner carried the top of the order. He earned a much deserved trip to the All Star game, but an 0-for-2 performance in Cincinnati was a sign of things to come for Brett. His AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS and just about every other stat went down in each of the second half months, highlighted by a .198 batting average in the month of September. Even Stephen Drew thought his batting average was low.
Gardner was adamant after the season ended that injuries were not the reason for his second half struggles, but one has to wonder if fatigue and nagging wrist problems, which culminated during the playoff game vs Houston, were to blame. If injuries were not the reason for his poor performance, then what was? Brett is a gamer so he will never admit he’s hurt, but like Ellsbury, his body seems to break down throughout the season.
It was floated during the offseason that the Yankees would move Gardner for the right piece. His affordable contract would make him attractive to other teams looking for veteran outfield help. The Angels and Indians were two teams rumored to be interested, but nothing ever materialized. Now that we know Gardner’s wrist is still bothering him from last October, the Yanks may have been unable to move him due to health concerns.
As we turn the page to 2016, the question becomes what will the two outfielders give the Yankees? If each play healthy and to their potential (I laughed just writing those words)Â the Yankees will be in great shape. Jacoby Ellsbury has the potential for 200 hits and 40 stolen bases. Brett Gardner can pop 15+ home runs and post a .350 OBP. The frustrating thing is that we’ll see that production in short spurts. The word “potential” is these guys worst nightmare because we know they’re good – we’ve seen it. They tease us for a month and then disappear into the abyss.
The burden of keeping them fresh and healthy will fall on Joe Girardi. Aaron Hicks should provide the Yankees a fourth outfielder who can produce enough that you don’t hamstring the team when sitting Ells or Gardy. Add in guys like Heathcott and Williams, and the Yankees have a nice mix of outfielders to play with. As I’m sure every Yankees fan can attest, having Ellsbury and Gardner on the field and producing in September and October is paramount to the Yanks’ offense.
Let’s just hope this isn’t another long season of scratching our heads wondering when Ellsbury and Gardner will get back on track.
