November 22, 2024

Good News: Joey Gallo Immediately Call Up For Apology….

Luis Gil and Will Warren stated equally strong cases in their quests to win the fifth starter job out of spring.

Today’s game got off to an inauspicious start when we learned that Anthony Rizzo would be a late scratch with lat tightness. Neither player nor manager seemed too concerned, and it didn’t appear to affect the play of those who took the field. Fifth-starter finalists Luis Gil and Will Warren were fantastic, while a combination of small ball, stolen bases, and stellar defense brought victory for the Yankees over the Mets, 5-3.

Gerrit Cole’s absence for the first 10-12 weeks as he recovers from elbow inflammation has opened the door for one of four pitchers to win the fifth starter job, and Gil has been the standout candidate of that competition this spring. Some recent reports have even narrowed the field down to just Gil and Warren.

With DJ LeMahieu’s status for Opening Day uncertain as he deals with a bone bruise in his right foot, the Yankees’ plans of who to bat leadoff become a bit murkier. Gleyber Torres has been red-hot this spring and stated his case for the role, leading off the first with a walk and stealing second base.

Gil had his lone hiccup in the second, starting with a leadoff single to Starling Marte. After striking out Francisco Alvarez, Gil missed with a 1-0 heater to Mark Vientos, the Mets’ top prospect sending it over the wall to the opposite field for a two-run shot. It was the young infielder’s team-leading fifth home run of the spring as he tries to prove he belongs on the MLB roster after the team signed J.D. Martinez to be their DH. The Mets threatened for more, but Juan Soto helped limit the damage by making a leaping grab at the wall.

The Yankees responded an inning later, Torres reaching with one out in the third on a hit by pitch followed by an opposite field single from Soto. After Aaron Judge struck out, Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate. The rejuvenated slugger has looked sharper with each spring training game, launching three home runs against the Pirates on Wednesday, and he got his team on the board with a single to left to plate Torres.

he New York Yankees acquired left-handed slugger Joey Gallo at the 2021 trade deadline. When it happened, it was easy to imagine him, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton wreaking havoc for the Bombers. Gallo’s time in the Bronx ended up being a disappointment, though, and it’s something he’d rather not remember.

Gallo was recently asked about a moment he’d like to forget from his career. The 30-year-old had a brutally honest answer, which was shared by Jomboy Media’s Talkin’ Yanks X account (formerly Twitter) on March 22.

“My whole Yankees career probably would be nice to — if that never happened, that would’ve been great,” he said. Gallo also added, “Yeah, that one didn’t count, so we’ll just, we can skip over that.”

 

Gallo spent parts of two seasons in the Bronx. His results across 140 games and 501 plate appearances weren’t good. The slugger slashed .159/.291/.368 with 25 home runs, 46 RBI and 65 runs scored. He also added 194 strikeouts during this time.

The Yankees finally pulled the plug on this experiment ahead of the 2022 trade deadline and sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gallo Is Still Trying to Revive His Career

It’s been nearly two years since Gallo last donned Yankee pinstripes, but he still hasn’t recovered. The slugger finished 2022 with the Dodgers, appearing in 44 games and racking up 137 plate appearances. Gallo ended up posting a .162/.277/.393 triple slash with seven home runs and 23 RBI.

He spent the 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins and produced similar results. Through 332 trips to the plate (111 games played), Gallo hit .177/.301/.440 with 21 homers and 40 RBI. What’s continued to be alarming is a rise in his strikeout rate. After posting a 34.6% strikeout rate in 2021 between New York and the Texas Rangers, it rose to 39.8% in 2022 and 42.8% in 2023, per FanGraphs.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *