New York Yankees: Time to move on from Ellsbury?

The Yankees took a gamble on Jacoby Ellsbury in 2013 when they signed him to a 7-year $153 million deal, and it has yet to pay off. With that being said, is it time to move on from Ellsbury?

If there is one word that could describe Jacoby Ellsbury’s career, it would be injured.

Since joining the league with the Red Sox back in 2007, Ellsbury has played 2 seasons in which he played more than 150 games. It has been a major struggle for Ellsbury to stay healthy, but when he does he is one of the best outfielders in the league.

When the Yankees signed Ellsbury, they thought they would be getting the 2011 Jacoby Ellsbury. The player who finished second in MVP voting behind only Justin Verlander.

Instead of getting the Ellsbury who played in 158 games, they got the Ellsbury who is constantly injured. To say the least the Yankees have not gotten what they wanted when they signed Jacoby Ellsbury.

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Ellsbury hasn’t been terrible, but he is not worth the $153 million that the Yankees are paying him.

This season the best trio of outfielders the Yankees have put on the field has proven to be Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner, both offensively and defensively. Jacoby Ellsbury is once again injured and has played in only 39 of the 57 games so far.

In addition to that, the Yankees have their fair share of prospects just waiting to be called up. Remember when the Yankees traded both Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller and everyone thought they were crazy for it? Well it’s about to pay off as the prospects they got are ready to come up.

Clint Frazier and Blake Rutherford are just about ready to come up to the majors, and this will allow the Yankees to get rid of Ellsbury and his $153 million.

Since Ellsbury’s first season with the Yankees in 2014, he has missed a total of 96 games, and will add a few more in the next few days as he is still recovering from a concussion.

When you sign a player for 7-years and $153 million you are expecting a player who is going to be playing every game and is one of the best players in the league.

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If the Yankees manage to get rid of Ellsbury, and or Masahiro Tanaka, they will be able to get rid of a lot of money. This will allow them to sign both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in the coming years.

But who could they get out of Ellsbury?

The Yankees desperately need a first baseman as Chris Carter continues to struggle and Greg Bird is still injured. If they trade Ellsbury they will get a player with a pretty big deal. Maybe someone like Brandon Belt who has a 6 year $79 million deal, or Matt Carpenter who has a 6 year $52 million deal.

If the Yankees did get either Belt or Carpenter for Ellsbury they would most likely get a prospect or two out of it as there is quite a big buffer between those two deals and Ellsbury’s.

It would be in the Yankees best interest to get rid of Ellsbury in order to make a real push at both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.

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