The New York Yankees have a lot of free agents that may not return to the team in 2023.
Perhaps more than any other team in baseball, the New York Yankees could have a lot of turnover on their roster this offseason.
Part of that is because they have 10 impending free agents on their roster. A lot of those players, including some big names, may not be returning to the Yankees in 2023 and heading elsewhere.
Here are three New York Yankees that won’t return to the Yankees in 2023 and where they will go.
3 Yankees who won’t be back next season
1) Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge – San Francisco Giants
Losing Aaron Judge be a cataclysmic blow to the New York Yankees. He was their best player in 2022 by a wide margin and he is almost certainly going to be the AL MVP for 2022.
He led the AL in bWAR (10.6) and his 62 home runs is the new American League record for home runs in a single season. The Yankees, though, have been known to play things on the cheap in recent years so they may not be willing to shell out the $300+ million that Judge will ask for.
Since Judge will be in his age-31 season next year but he will likely get an eight-year deal, if not more. At $40 million per season, that’s $320 million or more.
One team that is poised to spend a lot of money this offseason is the San Francisco Giants and they would be a perfect fit for Judge.
The Giants have struggled offensively and in the outfield in particular. Oracle Park has a very spacious outfield and Aaron Judge is a good defender. He is also from Linden, Calif., which is about 90 miles east of Oracle Park. He went to college in Fresno, which is about 180 miles away.
2) Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi – Atlanta Braves
Andrew Benintendi was acquired by the Yankees at the right before the trade deadline to replace Joey Gallo, who had been absolutely atrocious at the plate. New York ended up trading Gallo to the Dodgers after getting Benintendi. However, the Yankees caught a bad break (no pun intended) when Benintendi suffered a fractured hand, ending his season after September 2.
For the Yankees, they have a few other options to turn to in left field. Next year, they could use Oswaldo Cabrera, Estevan Florial, or another one of their prospects out there. They also could decide to trade for someone or sign someone else to play out there.
A team that could use Benintendi, who will be entering his age-28 season, is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. in center and right field but left field is more of question mark. Marcell Ozuna was not good in 2022 and was primarily a DH. Their other option is Eddie Rosario, who also wasn’t very good and he also was injured for much of the season.
With Benintendi, he would provide them with someone that could be a better option in left field and be a top-of-the-order bat for them.
3) Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon – Minnesota Twins
After struggling with some injury issues for much of his career, Jameson Taillon has been healthy for the Yankees in the past two seasons and he has been a pretty good pitcher.
For New York in the last two years, he has made 60 starts with 22-11 record, a 4.08 ERA, a 100 ERA+, and an average of 2.1 walks and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Taillon is entering his age-31 season, though, so with his injury history, the Yankees may decide to pass on signing Taillon long-term.
One team that is in some desperate need of some starting pitching is the Minnesota Twins. They faltered down the stretch but they could be a playoff team in 2023. They did address their rotation some by acquiring Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline but they need some more help. Taillon could help them for relatively cheap and probably on a four-year deal.