At any point before yesterday, had you told me that the Blue Jays were interested in acquiring Brett Gardner, I would have said you were crazy.
However, this is apparently the case according to New York Yankees beat writer, Erik Boland. Which begs the question, why?
Among the teams interested in Brett Gardner: the Blue Jays. But word around the game is Gardner is still waiting to see if the Yankees will make an offer
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) March 22, 2022
What does Gardner offer:
The 38-year-old outfielder was drafted in the 2005 draft and has spent his entire career in the Yankee organization. Gardner made his MLB debut in 2008, back when I was 10 years old. Interestingly, I think I was a Phillies fan at the time, I was weird.
With the bat:
Anyway, he’s slashed .256/.342/.740 (I used OPS at the end, by the way) in over 6000 plate appearances in his career. Obviously, the outfielder is 38, meaning that the speed he once had is no longer a tool in his game. However, he does still get on base, as he slashed .222/.326/.689 in 2021. The season prior, he had an on base percentage of .354, his OBP in his career.
His career high in home runs actually came in the 2019 season, where he hit 28 in his 550 plate appearances. While he’s only hit 15 in the past two seasons, or 619 plate appearances, he still has some pop left despite his age.
His career walk rate stands at 10.6%, but he surpassed that in 2021, walking 13% of the time. In the COVID shortened season, it was a career high 16.5%. However, his strikeout rate has also increased in the past two seasons, as he struck out 22.2% …
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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation