The New York Yankees have a new starting outfielder in Andrew Benintendi.
The incumbent, Joey Gallo, has already been replaced in the depth chart.
However, he will keep his place on the roster for now.
“Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves: •Added OF Andrew Benintendi (#18) to the active roster. •Optioned OF Tim Locastro to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre,” the Yankees reported via Twitter.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
•Added OF Andrew Benintendi (#18) to the active roster.
•Optioned OF Tim Locastro to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 28, 2022
Locastro had been called up in the last few days, but will return to Triple-A for depth.
It’s a lot easier to have Locastro in the Triple-A – major league shuttle rather than designating Gallo for assignment.
Gallo, who is hitting a disappointing .161/.285/.343 with 12 home runs and a whopping 38.1 percent strikeout rate, remains on the active roster as of Thursday afternoon.
The Yankees Are Probably Shopping Gallo
However, it’s clear that the Yanks are trying to get something in return for him in the trade market.
For all his struggles this year and last, he has legitimate bounce-back potential with another franchise.
He has multiple 40-homer seasons on his resume, and was productive as recently as the first half of the 2021 campaign.
There are several teams who could use a power injection in the outfield.
The San Diego Padres, for example, are one of them.
The Yankees and the Padres have partnered for trades in the past, including a recent Luke Voit transaction before the season started.
Gallo will likely be traded, but the Yankees probably won’t give him away either.
They sacrificed several legitimate prospects to get him in 2021.
The writing, however, is on the wall: his days as a member of the Yankees are numbered anyway, because he will be a free agent after the season.
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