3 Yankees players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed

2. Yankees fans are going to miss Michael King

What could've been, I guess? Michael King had established himself as one of baseball's premier set-up men for the Yankees in each of the last three seasons, pitching in a variety of roles out of the bullpen for Aaron Boone succeeding most of the time.

King could go multiple innings in relief if asked, could pitch against righties and lefties, and could pitch early or late in games. With this past season looking like a lost one, New York chose to try King out as a starting pitcher. The right-hander had started ten big league games before and was a starting pitcher in the minors so this wasn't completely uncharted territory for King, but it was a bit of a gamble considering how dominant he appeared to be in relief.

The gamble paid off, as in his nine starts for the Yankees down the stretch, the right-hander pitched to a 2.23 ERA in 40.1 innings of work. King had a 13-strikeout game in Toronto in which he allowed just one run in seven innings and then followed that up with another gem against the Jays, pitching six scoreless innings six days later.

King's ascension as a starter made him a player the Padres simply had to have in the Juan Soto deal. As hard as he was to give up, it's easy to see why the Yankees did agree to the deal. It's Juan Soto for crying out loud! Still, Yankees fans will miss King coming out of their bullpen and will miss him even more if he becomes a key starter in San Diego's rotation.