Yankees have to make a decision on Brett Gardner this week

Now that the 2018 season is officially over the Yankees will have three days to decide whether or not they want to pick up their team option on Brett Gardner for next year. If they decide to decline the $12.5 million option Gardner will be owed a $2 million buyout and become a free agent.

This is the first of many big decisions the Yankees will have to make in what should be a very busy offseason for the franchise. After watching the Red Sox win their fourth World Series over the last 15 years Sunday night the Yankees are going to do everything in their power this winter to build a team that can knock of the defending champs in 2019.

With that being the case we can all pretty much assume that there’s no way the Yanks will pick up Gardner’s pricey option for 2019. Now I’d say there’s still a decent chance that Gardner will be back for his 12th season in pinstripes but he’s going to have to take a huge pay cut for that to happen. He’s also going to have to accept a new role, likely as the team’s fourth outfielder and not as the primary starting left fielder.

Once again in 2018, Gardner had a very poor second half offensively and by the middle of September, he lost his starting job to August trade deadline acquisition Andrew McCutchen. Gardner still contributed somewhat for the Yanks down the stretch and in the playoffs but he wasn’t nearly as productive as he was a season ago. In 2017 Gardner set career highs with 21 HR and a .778 OPS. This season he only hit 12 HR with a .690 OPS, his worst career mark since his rookie season back in 2008.

Gardner did have 16 stolen bases on only 18 attempts and got nominated for a gold glove for the second straight season, but still, he looks like a player on the decline. He’s now 35 years old and although he still has the tools to be a starting outfielder somewhere that place probably isn’t in New York. That job should go to someone with more upside like former top prospect Clint Frazier or Giancarlo Stanton if he’s not going to be the every day DH.

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It’s unfortunate because Gardner is fan favorite, a clubhouse leader and the longest-tenured player on the team, but that’s not a good enough reason to bring him back at a $12.5 million price tag. That money should be used to upgrade the starting rotation or to sign a big bat who’s going to produce much more than Gardner’s capable of at this point in his career.

Gardner has to know that it’s highly unlikely that his option will be picked up and that he’ll become a free agent for the first time in his career on Thursday. Which means he’s going to have to decide what’s more important to him when he chooses where he’ll play in 2018.

Does he want to leave and play for a team where his role will be bigger and he’ll earn more money? Or will he return to the only team he’s ever played for but not as an everyday player and for less money?

It’s anyone’s guess right now as to what the future holds for Gardy, but I think I speak for most Yankee fans when I say I hope he chooses option B and returns for one more crack at his second championship.