The New York Yankees loved Luke Voit, and that includes fans, coaches, front office, and even media members.
Since he arrived at Yankee Stadium in 2018, he was likable, intense, and passionate.
The organization, however, understood his deficiencies as a major league player.
Voit could hit with the best of them and was extremely valuable for his ability to take walks and hit home runs.
He was, however, a defensive liability who couldn’t be trusted with a glove on his hand, and he suffered several long-term injuries in his time in the Bronx: a sports hernia, a meniscus problem, and an oblique issue, just to name a few.
His career-high in games played was 118, back in 2019.
The Yankees, as a result, traded him to the San Diego Padres on Friday in exchange for a minor league arm, Justin Lange.
Lange is a Class-A hurler with a big arm, the Padres’ 2020 first-round pick.
Some writers felt the move was necessary after Anthony Rizzo re-signed with the Yankees.
Not Everybody Liked The Trade For The Yankees
Others, however, hated the move for New York and used Twitter to criticize it.
A snarky Michael Bradburn, who writes in The Score, tweeted: “When you’re the New York Yankees and you’ve got a chance to get a 20-year-old pitcher who has yet to make his professional debut for a guy who’s hit more homers over the past three seasons than Stanton, LeMahieu, and Gleyber, you just GOTTA do it.”
When you’re the New York Yankees and you’ve got a chance to get a 20-year-old pitcher who has yet to make his professional debut for a guy who’s hit more homers over the past three seasons than Stanton, LeMahieu, and Gleyber, you just GOTTA do it. https://t.co/cDx6Y6pN6P
— Michael Bradburn (@MWBII) March 18, 2022
He may have a point, since the Yankees should always try to maximize their assets, but the truth is that there was never much of a market for Voit.
Yes, he is a career .267/.357/.510 hitter with a .867 OPS, but he has clear weaknesses and is already 31.
The Yankees tried to trade him last year, too, and found no offers of their liking.
At this point, they took what they could get.
Everybody moved on, and that’s baseball: at least they got a fine prospect in return.
NEXT: Luke Voit Comments On His Trade To The Padres