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The Brett Gardner dilemma

When Brett Gardner went 0-4 in the Wild Card game against Houston he was in an unfamiliar place, being booed at Yankee Stadium. The scrappy, always fan favorite seems to have had a falling out with the Bronx Faithful after an abysmal second half. The question now becomes, what do the Yankees do with him?

Gardner was having a great season, hitting .297 with an .850 OPS, 11 home runs, 46 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 72 runs scored in 93 games and fought his way to his first All Star Game. His 4 year $52 million contract seemed to be a steal, especially since he hit a career high 17 home runs the year after signing the deal. Fast forward to the second half of 2015. From July 29 to the end of the season, he squeaked out a .196 average with a .561 OPS, 5 homers, 20 RBI and five stolen bases in 58 games. A drastic drop off from his first half numbers.

When Jacoby Ellsbury was signed, the one-two punch of speed on the base paths was the key to the Yankees success. This meant Gardner not only had to get on base, but swipe bags as well. However, from June 12 to August 11, he didn’t have a single stolen base attempt. He had only been caught three times in 15 attempts so what happened? Did Girardi tell Gardner to pump the brakes? According to the skipper, no he didn’t. Gardner just wasn’t running.

“It’s odd to me. I would ask him how he felt on a number of occasions when we’d get in a long stretch. ‘I feel good, I feel good.’ He just wasn’t running as much.” -Joe Girardi

Is this becoming a trend? Last season, Gardner went from a .279 average in the first half to .218 after the break while his OPS dropped from .778 to .703. It turned out he was playing through a sports hernia and had surgery for it during the offseason, so he should have come back to form. It’s hard to hate the guy. He always battles at the plate, says the right things and loves playing in pinstripes. But with a plethora of outfielders, both in the Majors and Minors, Gardner should become trade bait or a platoon player.

He’s signed for three more seasons, earning $12 million per year, and just turned 32 in August. He did have an All Star first half, he can play center field and possibly hit leadoff. It’s a pretty attractive deal for anyone who might want him. If the Yanks can get a right handed power bat, or another legitimate starter, I say deal him. With Ellbury and Carlos Beltran in the field, plus Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, Aaron Judge, Ben Gamel and Jake Cave coming up in the minors, Gardner looks expendable. Or do you bring back lefty killer Chris Young on a one year deal and platoon the two of them while Judge develops? Platoon him with Heathcott or Williams and hope that keeps him from slumping? There’s a lot of options but one thing is for sure, Brett Gardner can’t be your everyday outfielder.

What do you think the team should do with Gardner?