As team owners and the Players Union continue to argue over financials, baseball seems to be in a state of purgatory. The New York Yankees and every other Major League team are waiting patiently to resume operations, but unless the two sides can come to a conclusion over the financial repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, nothing will get started. It is possible that baseball could return in 2021, as team owners refused to unveil the financial state and what a 50% prorated contract might look like for any given player.
The current proposal would force players like Gerrit Cole to give up nearly $18 million in salary, which is an astronomically high number that would ultimately benefit the minor-leaguers and lower income players.
One specific player that could lose out on his final opportunity to play in the Bronx is outfielder, Brett Gardner. Gardner signed a one-year contract worth $12.5 million that includes a $20 million option for the 2021 season.
Ultimately, $20 million for a veteran back-up outfielder is significant, and the New York Yankees will likely be unwilling to pay that amount after the loss of an entire campaign. Nonetheless, that would likely spell the end of Gardiner in Pinstripes and end his tenure prematurely.
He has featured with the Yanks for 11 seasons, formerly being drafted in the third round in 2005 out of Charleston. At 36-years-old, Gardner was expected to start the season due to injuries in the outfield. Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, and Giancarlo Stanton were all scheduled to miss time, and with Judge still nursing a stress fracture in a rib, Gardner could still start in a shortened season.
Unless team owners and the Players Union can come together and find a solution for their financial differences, Gardner could end up missing his final season with the Yankees and retire instead after a lost 2020 campaign.