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3 Yankees players who’ll be gone by the All-Star break

By Adam Weinrib |
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 10: Jay Bruce #30 of the New York Yankees reacts to a strike out in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 10, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 10: Jay Bruce #30 of the New York Yankees reacts to a strike out in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on April 10, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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Frustrated with the New York Yankees’ performance to start the 2021 season? We have good news!

Some of the chief offenders will be gone in a few weeks, and you’ll never think of them again. Remember Kendrys Morales? Exactly!

Oh, you thought … you thought our “good news” might be some way the Yankees could actually improve? Oh, that we don’t have. Their starters’ ERA outside of Gerrit Cole is over 6.00 and they rank 20th in hard-hit rate, between the Diamondbacks and Orioles.

Better luck next time!

You can’t expect any major changes to this roster at the trade deadline, as Brian Cashman has just a handful of millions in wiggle room under the luxury tax threshold to play around with. Either Cash gets an extremely controllable young asset (unlikely) in some sort of 2004 Nomar Garciaparra-esque culture reset, or he doesn’t do anything at all under Hal’s watchful eye.

Mercifully, though, there will be a few struggling players cut loose in the next few weeks.

One of these guys we hate to see go, but it simply feels inevitable. One, we could go either way on, but his rope is small.

One of ’em? The day he leaves will feel as freeing as the second vaccine shot, or when Tyler Wade got demoted.

However long these Yankees’ journeys are, they’ll feel like blips on the radar by mid-July.

These 3 Yankees won’t stay on the MLB roster past the All-Star Game.

Albert Abreu #84 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Albert Abreu #84 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3. Albert Abreu

Thank you, Albert Abreu, for saving a four-run lead in extra innings against the Tampa Bay Rays with your 99 MPH cheddar. That was excellent. Without that easy inning, the Yankees’ already-bleak picture would look extremely dire.

In his second outing of the season on Tuesday against the Blue Jays, though, he didn’t quite have it. He also didn’t have it this spring, but stuck around in the Bronx when the Yankees discovered he had an extra minor-league option nobody else knew about.

Abreu was the man for the moment on Sunday since he just so happened to be on the Taxi Squad, but based on what we’ve seen from the non-Gerrit Cole members of the rotation thus far, the Yanks are going to rely on a lot of different arms off the Scranton Shuttle to soak up the final innings of various blowouts.

For too long, Abreu’s been a tantalizing prospect who’s seen his shine become diminished over the years instead of grown. When he arrived in the Brian McCann trade, he was a potential top-of-the-rotation starter. Now, he looks like a smoke-throwing reliever who can’t really be trusted to command the ball in key situations.

Odds are that, by the All-Star break, this 40-man roster spot will be occupied by someone else, and the Yanks will try to get some form of relief in a small trade.

Lucas Luetge #63 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Lucas Luetge #63 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

2. Lucas Luetge

Lucas Luetge grew up a childhood Yankee fan. He was devastating in spring training, blowing people away with his trademark breaker. We’re so glad he finished off his MLB comeback with the team he rooted for as a kid, and we’re glad it’s lasted several weeks.

Thus far during the regular season, though, Luetge hasn’t been quite as dominant, ranking as one of the very few relievers on the roster who’ve been blemished … well, at all, really.

Through Tuesday’s action, Luetge has struck out nine in 6.1 innings, right in line with his preseason performance. However, he’s also been tagged for three homers and five earned runs, at least one in every outing (including a three-inning stint in Tampa on Friday that really didn’t seem like an ideal use for his services).

All emotions removed, this is a number’s game. While Luetge has shown the ability to be a big-league mop-up man, the Yankees would much rather that role be occupied by someone who can be sent freely up and down to Triple-A. There are innings limits on everybody this year, and the Yanks need flexibility anywhere they can find it. The very second they make a roster decision on Luetge, his time with the organization has evaporated — unless he clears waivers and chooses to return to Scranton, which is a possibility.

Bottom line, he hasn’t shown enough to justify being kept afloat over a replacement arm. It’s a shame.

Jay Bruce #30 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Jay Bruce #30 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

1. Jay Bruce

Remember when we were all crossing our fingers and hoping for, say, 10 homers from Jay Bruce in a month and a half without Luke Voit before he got out of the lineup?

Remember when carrying five left fielders on the Opening Day roster and then spreading them across the field at other positions felt viable?

Remember when we all downplayed Voit’s absence, claiming the Yankees could survive the interstitial time easily?

After 12 games of Bruce, this all seems laughable in hindsight.

We won’t mince words. There’s no role for Bruce on this team when Voit returns, with Mike Ford and Chris Gittens now serving as higher-upside options at the Triple-A level. Nothing — nothing — has aged worse than the discourse that the Yankees should consider trading Mike Tauchman to make sure they didn’t let Bruce get away.

When the veteran was installed in the Opening Day lineup, the only options here were that he’d put on the pinstripes and embody “Yankee Magic” temporarily to rediscover his youth, or he’d flatline spectacularly.

Outside of a few surprisingly adept defensive plays in the first two series of the year, Bruce has seemed out of his element at first base, though, and rightfully so! We don’t see any way he lasts past the All-Star break, unless he retires and signs on as bench coach.

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