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New York Yankees: Brett Gardner Discusses Trade Rumors

By Nick Ziegler

Sep 20, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner (11) hits a RBI single during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner (11) hits a RBI single during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner had his name mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason. How did he feel about that?

Brett Gardner has been a solid outfielder for the New York Yankees for the past few years. Few players play harder than Gardner, but he is on the wrong side of 30 on a team that is looking to rebuild.

This offseason, Gardner was frequently mentioned in trade rumors. At 33-years-old, Gardner still has a few good years in him. Last season, Gardner totaled a .261 batting average, seven home runs, and 41 RBIs.

As a player that was rumored to be available for quite some time now, Gardner tries to not listen to all of that noise. However, he thought that he would be playing somewhere else this season.

"“I guess so, to be honest,” Gardner said to Randy Miller of NJ.com. “I’m not constantly checking on my phone. I don’t have Twitter or a Google alert on myself or anything like that. “I try to unplug myself as much as possible from all that in the offseason, but I definitely hear from wife, mom, friends … the stuff was all being mentioned. I was aware of it all, but I’m happy to be back here obviously.”"

Even though hearing his name mentioned in trade rumors certainly hurts, other teams being interested was a compliment for Gardner. However, Gardner wants to be a Yankee.

"“It is what it is,” Gardner said Miller. “I guess on one hand obviously I don’t want to get traded, but on the other hand the fact that maybe some other teams have an interest in me, I see that as a compliment. “I don’t want to play anywhere else. I want to be here, I’m excited to be here and I feel like we’ve got an exciting group of young guys here that are ready to come up and help us out or are right on the verge. I’m excited to be part of that.”"

This season, the Yankees likely won’t be battling for a playoff spot. Like last season, we could see the Yankees be sellers at the trade deadline.

Next: 5 Reasons 2017 Will Be Great for the Yankees

If the Yankees are sellers once again, Gardner’s name will likely be mentioned in trade rumors once again. As a solid player with an affordable contract, Gardner will likely be a player that the Yankees can move if they decide to do so this season.

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