Yankees: Didi Gregorius teases ‘truth’ in cryptic tweet

Perhaps no former Yankees player has managed to maintain sway over the hearts and minds of New Yorkers quite like Didi Gregorius.

Once the heir apparent to Derek Jeter, an impossible task, Gregorius blossomed into quite the player from 2016-2018, turning his trademark positive defense into progress with the bat as well, and a propensity for all things clutch.

Unfortunately, the relationship between player and team frayed as his skills began to erode, too.

After the 2018 season, it was revealed that Gregorius had suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow during a nightmare ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, and needed Tommy John surgery that knocked him out until midway through the following season. When the incumbent went down, DJ LeMahieu wasn’t a thing; when he returned, LeMahieu and Gio Urshela were essential parts of the infield.

Gregorius knocked a few more clutch hits that season — his ALDS grand slam against the Twins will always come to mind — and played in 82 games, bashing 16 homers. He was clearly compromised, though, and at the end of the campaign, the Yankees allowed him to seek employment elsewhere. He eventually hooked on in Philadelphia on a one-year “prove it” deal and proved more than enough to earn a two-year deal that did not go well in Year One.

Things went so poorly, in fact, that in the wake of Phillies President Dave Dombrowski’s aggressive end-of-season press conference, Gregorius threatened to spill some beans.

Ex-Yankees SS Didi Gregorius has some truth to spill (about the Phillies?)

Got Yankees-related beans in there, by any chance?

Philadelphia’s braintrust is clearly concerned with Gregorius’ recent performance, as Dombrowski did not hold back in addressing how much of a disappointment his shortstop was in his sophomore campaign calling Citizens Bank home.

"“We need to get better at shortstop,” Dombrowski said. “If it’s internally or externally, whatever it may be, we need to do that.”“It very well could be [Didi]. But he knows, we’ve had a discussion with him, that he needs to be better. We’re in a position where we’re going to be open-minded to what’s going to take place at shortstop next year. It could be internal. It could be (Gregorius) if he comes back. … He had some injury factors this season. He will come (into spring training) in shape and maybe it is him. We’ll just see how he does at that point, but he’s not guaranteed that he’s for sure the shortstop.”"

Gregorius costs Philly over $15 million in 2022, so if the job isn’t assured, that’s really saying something.

It should also serve as fair warning to Yankees fans who think the worst maneuver Brian Cashman ever made was disrupting the status quo by allowing the shortstop to sign somewhere else.

In fact, though the injury’s partially to blame, it might be among Cash’s smartest calculations of this era.

If you recall correctly, strange rumors began to emerge of Gregorius’ dissatisfaction during that final summer in pinstripes, too, as he was supplanted in the lineup’s pecking order.

He’s also been outspoken this fall, claiming the COVID vaccine led directly to his elbow pain, which everyone seems to agree couldn’t be further from the truth.

We’ll see if the shortstop publishes a tell-all of some kind and takes the narrative back, whether that spreads to his Yankees days or not.

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