Yankees: Have they closed the book on bringing back Didi Gregorius?

The Yankees declined to extend shortstop Didi Gregorius the $17.8 million qualifying offer on Monday. He’s now officially a free agent but there’s still a chance New York resigns him, albeit a slight one.

Even after the Yankees announced last offseason that Didi would undergo Tommy John surgery the expectation was still that he and the team would eventually agree to a long-term deal to keep him in pinstripes. Now here we are a little over a year later and the likelihood of that happening has definitely decreased after he had what he himself would describe as a down season.

Didi returned from the injury on June 7th and it felt like he was playing catch up the rest of the season. He finished the year with a .238 batting average, his worst as a Yankee and a career-worst .276 OBP. His power production wasn’t bad as he hit 16 HR and drove in 61 runs in just 82 games, but he was never really able to get hot for a long stretch of games. He had some clutch moments but he wasn’t the same Didi Yankee fans have grown to love over the previous four seasons.

In the postseason he had a terrific ALDS against the Twins hitting .400 with a home run and 6 RBI, but in the ALCS against the Astros, he was a non-factor, hitting .217 with 0 RBI. Following the loss to Houston, he expressed his desire to return to New York but Monday’s news could be a sign that the Yankees are prepared to let him walk.

Had they extended Didi the qualifying offer and he rejected it they would have received draft compensation if he signed with another team. The fact that they didn’t even offer him the QO could mean they were afraid he would accept it and don’t believe he is worth that high of a salary for one season.

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However, that doesn’t necessarily signify that Didi’s days as a Yankee are over because they still might want him back, just at a lower price. He could still be resigned to a multi-year deal for a lesser salary or a one-year deal to rebuild his value before hitting the free-agent market again in 2020. That might be the best route for him to go if he wants to remain a Yankee and put himself in the best position to cash in on a big contract next winter.

I hope the Yankees find a way to keep Didi, but if they can’t they have Gleyber Torres who can take over as the everyday shortstop and DJ LeMahieu who can shift over to second. Torres isn’t the defender Didi is at short, but he’s more than capable of playing the position and isn’t even arbitration-eligible yet. The Yanks also have Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar coming back in 2020 so Didi is definitely expendable.

You also have to wonder how the team’s pursuit of free agent Gerrit Cole factors into whether or not Didi will be back in pinstripes next season. It’s no secret the Yanks are likely going to be in the mix to land the ace right-hander and signing him should definitely take precedence over everything else this offseason. Signing both Cole and Didi doesn’t seem very likely so if the Yankees believe they have a real shot at Cole they should throw all their money at him.

It hurts me to say that but if letting Didi walk is indirectly part of the price they have to pay to get Cole they have to do it. With that being said, I’m not ready to close the book on Didi’s Yankee career because if they miss out on Cole and he’s willing to accept a one-year deal with a pay cut it still makes a lot of sense for both sides to reunite.