3 former Yankees players we'll be glad are gone, and 2 we'll wish stayed

The New York Yankees have started the 2023 season fairly well, considering how much pitching depth (as well as their only center fielder!) they lost during spring training. Their left fielder? Is an infielder. Their worst player? He plays third pretty regularly -- oh, sorry, you meant the other guy. Yeah, he complained about his role on the team and they rewarded him with more playing time. Not going great!

And yet, the team perseveres.

So far -- way, way, way too early -- it seems the team is poised to compete when the full calvary comes back midseason, despite some tough decisions that had to be made this offseason and during camp. Jameson Taillon? Gone to Chicago for the big bucks, and it'll probably work out for both parties. Oswald Peraza? Sorry, man, but this is Anthony Volpe's spot for now.

It's difficult to fully regret moving on from any player the Yankees have left in the dust recently, as their roster continues to perform well, but there are a few faces we're always going to miss, regardless of how much it makes sense.

As for the players we're glad are gone? Those decisions were much easier.

Honorable Mention: Gio Urshela, who would be a perfect complementary piece on the Yankees roster if he were still here because he's a perfect complementary piece on any roster. Sunday evening's extra-innings at-bat in the Angels-Blue Jays thriller was a perfect example. Needing a hit of any kind to keep the line moving in the most desperate way, Urshela took a deep breath, threw the bat out, and shanked a liner into the right-center gap. He was familiarly composed. He simply did his job. He's hitting .364 with a 122 OPS+ in early action with the Angels. However, you and I both know that this infield's overstuffed as is; if Urshela were still around, either Anthony Volpe or Gleyber Torres wouldn't be here.

Second Honorable Mention: Jordan Montgomery. Like a too-kind classmate in a horror movie, there's still something I don't trust about Monty's NL Central stats. He's really doing this with just changeups? Over and over and over? Long-term (or in a playoff series), I'm not sure Montgomery has much of a place in the Yankees' rotation, but right now, when Domingo Germán and Clarke Schmidt are falling all over themselves to fumble a good thing ("You leave the rotation." "No, I insist, you leave the rotation."), it would look silly not to say, "Yeah, I wish he were here."