New York Yankees: The 10 biggest mistakes the Yankees ever made

By Ryan Morik | May 24, 2020

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Jacoby Ellsbury #22 of the New York Yankees reacts in pain after hitting the ball off his foot in an MLB baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 30, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 2-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 30: Jacoby Ellsbury #22 of the New York Yankees reacts in pain after hitting the ball off his foot in an MLB baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 30, 2017 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 2-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

2. Signing Jacoby Ellsbury

We mentioned Ellsbury before — the Yankees decided to pay Ellsbury, a one-time All Star, more than $20 million a year, for seven years after the 2013 season. A speedster with a swing made for Yankee Stadium, What can go wrong?

Everything. Everything can go wrong. And everything did go wrong.

In 2014, Ellsbury’s 16 home runs were the second most of his carer. And he was coming off of a season where his 52 stolen bases were the most in baseball.

But he missed 51 games in 2015, while only posting a poor .663 OPS. In 2017, he missed 50 games, and despite a late resurgence (.429/.543/.625 slash line from September 1 to September 20), he appeared in just six postseason games that year, with 12 plate appearances. And he hasn’t played a game since.

The Yankees released Ellsbury during this offseason, and they are now battling as to whether they owe him the remaining $26 million on his contract for the 2020 season.

Among Yankees to play at least 500 games with the club, Ellsbury’s 198 runs batted in is the 10th-lowest in franchise history, while his .716 OPS is the 30th-worst.

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