Yankees: 3 players who survived trade deadline but won’t be on 2022 roster

The New York Yankees conducted a mini makeover at this year’s trade deadline, but this roster is far from getting its full facelift.

So many other players need to go, whether it’s via non-tenders, trades or outright DFAs. But general manager Brian Cashman needed to keep his focus, and he used that energy on upgrades rather than trimming the fat.

But what his upgrades did was send a message for the future. Just because some guys survived the trade deadline doesn’t mean they’ll be here in 2022. All of these players can’t stay. There’s not enough room. There’s no more time to disrupt chemistry. There can’t be more negative headlines.

And guess what? This list definitely spans beyond just three players. But it’s probably best to zone in on the marquee names rather than those who could (and will be) easily disposed of come November.

It sounds harsh, and it might be, but these last two years better have opened the front office’s eyes to make some cutthroat moves because next year continues to feel like the last possible fortuitous opportunity to win a World Series without franchise-altering moves having to be made.

As a result, we can expect these smaller decisions to make way for bigger ones, which will hopefully put the Bombers in prime position one last time.

These Yankees who survived the trade deadline will be gone in 2022.

3. Miguel Andújar

We got an update on Andújar last week, in which Aaron Boone said the slugger is “improving but isn’t out of the woods yet.” Then he started taking ground balls on Tuesday.

He hit the IL on July 10 with a wrist strain and has been on the shelf ever since. He had similar issues that kept him out during spring training.

If he were on the roster though? Well, he might not even be here. He might be in Triple-A since he has one option remaining … because there’s no room or use for him. He’s a bad third baseman and very much not a corner outfielder, though that’s where he’s mostly been playing.

His fall from grace ever since his electrifying 2018 rookie campaign has been upsetting and notable, but it’s been a combination of bad luck and poor play. It wasn’t his fault he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2019, which paved the way for the unexpected Gio Urshela stardom. However, it is somewhat his fault that he can’t produce much at all when he’s finally given playing time.

We get it. That’s not easy to do when you’ve played in just 78 games since the start of 2019, but if you’re seeing the field that infrequently … perhaps that just tells the whole story.

The writing is on the wall. We wish it were different.

2. Clint Frazier

What did Clint Frazier’s recent tweets mean? He says it’s a whole lot of nothing (he responded to a tweet about that article and said it was “trash” even though we had hoped to hear his side of the story, like he requested!), but most fans who follow the Yankees closely definitely feel like something’s afoot here.

Frazier’s inauspicious start with the franchise, which was plagued with injuries and some character issues, seemingly went away after 2020. He had a very good season and was named the starting left fielder ahead of the 2021 campaign.

Then came time to deliver. Instead, Frazier’s Gold Glove-nominated defense disappeared, and so did his bat. We don’t need to go over the numbers. It was objectively bad and certainly played a role in the team’s embarrassingly slow start. It was no longer tenable.

On July 2, Frazier hit the IL after exiting a game and experiencing dizziness. At first, he was diagnosed with vertigo, then other medical opinions refuted that diagnosis. And he’s been out of commission ever since … until this week when he started conducting baseball activities. 

But what’s been the issue? Have doctors really not been able to figure out what’s going on with him? Maybe … it’s not exactly out of the question. But the scarce updates do leave us with skepticism.

And when he does return, what will his role be? He can’t play center field. Joey Gallo is now here. Giancarlo Stanton has begun playing some outfield. Brett Gardner is engraved on this roster until this season expires.

We’d be surprised if Frazier logged another at-bat in pinstripes again this year … which can only mean he’s gone come 2022.