Yankees: 4 players the organization ruined in 2021

2. Luke Voit

Oh man, do NOT get Yankees fans started about the situation with Luke Voit. He was the team’s hottest hitter before manager Aaron Boone just … stopped playing him.

Yes, the Anthony Rizzo trade had obvious implications of Voit losing playing time, but not to this magnitude. Since being named AL Player of the Week on Aug. 23, Voit has started in eight games out of a possible 20. That’s not even HALF!

Nobody’s complaining about the team acquiring Rizzo. The Yankees undoubtedly needed more stability at first base given Voit’s injury issues. However, the problem lies with the team clearly having no plan in the event Voit stayed healthy with Rizzo in the picture. Instead, he’s had to answer questions about his playing time and how he felt about coming off the bench.

On top of that, Rizzo has largely struggled since missing 11 days on the COVID IL. He returned on Aug. 18 only to see his average and OPS decline. Boone’s only given him a couple days off over the last month, one of which came on Monday.

The once red-hot Voit had his starting job taken away only to be reduced to a pinch-hitter with infrequent starts despite the Yankees possessing the ability to play Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo and Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield to leave the DH spot open.

Voit’s been taken out of his rhythm, the team presented no alternative, and his play has suffered as a result. The Yankees just love getting worse, don’t they?