3 Yankees free agents who won’t be back next season and why

3) Yankees will let Jameson Taillon walk away

Let’s get it out of the way right now: Aaron Judge will be back in the Bronx next year!

As much as this has dragged out, we’ll eventually be able to thank tax dollars and how much more he could lose by playing for a California team like the San Francisco Giants. Sure, they make sense, and the Giants will make him an offer. Between endorsements, familiarity with the Yankees already, and all of the other ingredients, it’s hard to picture Steinbrenner letting Judge leave them for anywhere else.

As for Jameson Taillon, a quality pitcher also heading to free agency, the Yankees will let him walk.

Taillon has been a good arm for them, but not one they necessarily will need to spend money on to bring back. Subtract him from the equation and hope Luis Severino is healthy; the Yankees already have a nearly full rotation. Trade for a guy. Call someone up. Find a cheaper alternative than Taillon. Whatever it is they do, Taillon just doesn’t seem destined to return to the Yankees.

A lot of what the team does will depend on how far they can go in this year’s postseason. A World Series victory could have players feeling nostalgic and a little more eager to stay. A tough loss might have them thinking differently. The front office, too, could feel a greater need to change things up.

Chapman, Benintendi, and Taillon will be three of the more important Yankees free agents headed elsewhere in the winter. Meanwhile, the Judge’s Chamber will stay put.