Why Yankees shouldn't just dump Jacoby Ellsbury

It never seemed likely in the first place. And with just about three weeks until spring training, it seems like it may never happen.

No matter how badly the Yankees would like to dump Jacoby Ellsbury and however much of the three years and $68 million remaining on his contract, it just doesn’t appear like it’s going down.

Is that the worst thing in the world for the Yankees, though? Let’s talk a bit about why the Yankees shouldn’t trade him (though it’s obviously not as convincing of an argument as why they should). 

The seven-year, $153-million deal the Yankees gave Ellsbury before the 2014 season was widely ridiculed at the time. The center fielder’s performance hasn’t helped matters.

Since then, Ellsbury has essentially been an average big-league center fielder. He’s missed a bunch of time due to various injuries. And when he’s been on the field, he’s brought his typically good defensive range, poor arm and solid baserunning skills. At the plate, he hasn’t quite done what the Yankees would have hoped.

The team envisioned the athletic Ellsbury perhaps using the right-field short porch a bit more. Instead, his power has dipped. After hitting 16 bombs in 2014, he hit seven in 2015, nine in 2016 and seven in 2017. His stolen base totals have fallen off, too, from 39 in 2013 to the low-20s in the proceeding years.

Ellsbury profiles as the Yankees fourth outfielder. If you want to call him their fifth, you wouldn’t be wrong. The outfield looks like this: Brett Gardner, left field; Aaron Hicks, center field; Aaron Judge, right field. Giancarlo Stanton and Judge figure to also see time in left field. If Hicks were to get hurt, it’s likely Gardner would just slide to center field. But it’s also possible the Yankees would want to send Ellsbury to center and keep Gardner in left, where he’s better, and Judge and Stanton in right field or at DH, where they’re more comfortable.

Fanrag’s Jon Heyman reported that Ellsbury could consider waiving his no-trade for a team that either plays near his home (Arizona) or has spring training there. The Yankees and Diamondbacks have discussed an Ellsbury deal, but Arizona wasn’t exactly intrigued at the time. Heyman has also reported the Yankees would be willing to eat as much as half of Ellsbury’s deal. The Giants, once thought of as potential Ellsbury suitors, recently added a pair of starting outfielders in Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson. Take them off the list.