7 Yankees facing uncertain futures heading into 2022

Here comes the 2022 season. A make-or-break year for the New York Yankees that might not even truly happen because Major League Baseball can’t get it together. Wonderful to know who’s running the show for this sport. Pathetic.

So, while we think of the Yankees potentially losing another pivotal year in the event it’s interrupted in some capacity, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a few players whose futures are uncertain as we approach 2022.

The Yankees will see a ton of turnover next November and it’s unclear if anybody will be retained … even if they win it all. There’s no doubt the front office will want to upgrade in a number of areas — despite (hopefully) plenty of post-lockout moves to come — with all of this money coming off the books.

Yes, Hal Steinbrenner is currently dancing knowing that he’ll see a grand total of $65 million coming off the books (and even more if they botch it and don’t extend Aaron Judge!). Exciting times for the billionaires, indeed.

At this very moment, eight players are slated to hit free agency after 2022 and another has a team option which the Yankees could very well decline. It’s safe to say a large majority of these guys have no idea if they’ll be in pinstripes come 2023.

And neither do we. We’d actually bet almost all of these guys are gone when the curtain closes on 2022 (if there even is a season).

These 7 Yankees players’ futures are uncertain heading into 2022.

7. Zack Britton

The Yankees seemingly decided to be benevolent before the lockout (things could change!) and grant Zack Britton, for the time being, a roster spot in 2022 despite the fact he’ll miss the entire year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The move will be to help Britton secure his valuable 10-5 rights, which is a tremendous milestone.

However, after paying him a combined $30 million over the last two seasons in which he’ll pitch a grand total of 22 bad games (5.89 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 2021), it’s hard to envision the Yankees bringing him back for 2023, which will be his age-35 season, when he’ll be making a return from reconstructive elbow surgery.

The Yankees attempted to build a behemoth of a bullpen with Britton and Aroldis Chapman, but the two, at different times, failed to get the job done in the postseason. The era is over. Don’t expect to see Britton pitch again for this team.