At one point, Joey Gallo looked like the perfect slugger for the Yankees—massive power, strong defense, and the ability to take walks at an elite clip. But his time in the Bronx turned into a nightmare, and now, at 31 years old, he’s fighting for his baseball life on a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox.
If the White Sox, a team not exactly overflowing with offensive firepower, see him as a fringe player, it’s clear his value has hit rock bottom.
A Steady Decline
Gallo’s career has always been built on a simple formula: home runs and strikeouts. The problem is, the strikeouts have been winning for years now.
Last season with the Nationals, he hit just .161/.277/.336 with 10 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a 76 wRC+. His career strikeout rate sits at an alarming 38%, and that number has only trended in the wrong direction. He’s still capable of running into a few home runs, but it’s clear that his days as a reliable offensive piece are long gone.
The Yankees Regret the Trade That Brought Him In
The Yankees took a big swing on Gallo, acquiring him from the Texas Rangers in 2021, hoping his lefty power would thrive in Yankee Stadium. Instead, he hit .160 with 13 home runs over 58 games. The following year, he was even worse, slashing .159/.282/.339 with 12 home runs over 82 games before the Yankees finally cut their losses and shipped him to the Dodgers.
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At his peak, Gallo was an intimidating presence at the plate. In 2019 with Texas, he hit .253/.389/.598 with 22 homers in just 70 games. But those days are long gone, and now, he’s clinging to the fringes of the major leagues. The Yankees would certainly prefer to forget the investment they made in him, but for Gallo, his battle just to stay relevant continues in Chicago.