Last year, the New York Yankees acquired an outfielder that they thought would be a perfect fit for the team. An outfielder with a ton of athleticism, played great defense, had a good eye, and swung a very powerful lefty bat.
Just what the Yankees are always looking for. That outfielder was Joey Gallo. Hell, I along with many Yankees fans, loved the deal. Yes, Gallo had an average to be desired, but I thought putting him in the lineup with a bunch of other elite hitters, we’d see him hit better.
I figured he’d get more pitches to hit opposed to being the one big power threat in Texas. In a way, that happened during his tenure with the Yankees, however, he failed to hit. In fact, he put on the worst performance of his professional career.
Gallo played last night against the Royals and went 0-3 with three strikeouts. Gallo’s average tumbled under .160 on the season. Aaron Judge walked off last night’s game with his 39th home run on the year. Want an alarming stat? Aaron Judge has two more homers than Gallo has hits during the 2022 season.
Two nights ago, the bombers acquired Andrew Benintendi from the Royals which signaled that the end is near for Joey Gallo in pinstripes. Brendan Kuty reported this morning that New York is looking at very specific markets for Joey Gallo in a potential trade.
Yankees want to trade with small market clubs
When it comes to Gallo, the Yankees believed that the pressure-cooker that is New York was simply too much. They believe that Gallo will succeed in a smaller market just like they did with Sonny Gray.
The Yankees traded Gray to the Reds to get him out of New York. Per Kuty’s report, they are looking at places that have, ‘No Pressure’, when looking for new homes for Gallo. The Yankees are talking to teams like Milwaukee, San Diego, Tampa and Texas.
If I was to handicap the race, I would say that the Rangers make the most sense. Ownership in Texas loves Joey Gallo and he meant a lot to that team. They definitely won the deal with the Yankees and now they’d have the ability to get Gallo back for pennies on the dollar.
What I would tell fans is expect Gallo to return back to his Texas form once he’s out of New York. I really don’t think Gallo’s struggles with the Yankees were anything physical. It’s clearly a mental block and he couldn’t handle New York. I would expect Gallo’s time to be up by the end of the weekend if not sooner.