Brett Gardner's $2.3M Yankees Contract for 2022 Season Declined

Both Brett Gardner and the New York Yankees declined his $2.3 million option for the 2022 MLB season, the club announced Thursday.

Given his age (38) and service time, retirement seemed a plausible outcome for the outfielder following the Yankees' loss to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game. However, he was emphatic about wanting to return to the Bronx postgame:

Perhaps the bigger question was whether the Yankees would want Gardner after one of the worst offensive seasons of his career.

The 2015 All-Star had a .305 weighted on-base average and a .362 slugging percentage, according to FanGraphs. Per Baseball Savant, he also ranked in the sixth percentile in expected batting average (.214) and the third percentile in expected slugging percentage (.312).

Aside from 2019, when he had 28 home runs, Gardner hasn't been much of a power hitter. As he gets deeper into his 30s, his rate of decline in that area is accelerating. His .223 and .222 batting averages in 2020 and 2021 are also his two lowest ever.

His .327 on-base percentage was only slightly lower than his career average (.342), so he at least found a way to compensate for his poor hitting.

It's difficult to ignore how he closed 2021 as well. He had a .250/.314/.458 slash line in 28 games across September and October, and four of his 10 homers came during that stretch.

The Yankees had to scratch and claw their way to a wild-card berth, and Gardner delivered when it mattered. He was also the kind of leader inside the clubhouse who could provide stability and perspective in tense times.

Joey Gallo explained in mid-September how the veteran conveyed to the team that "every day is a new day" and to "just win that day," per NJ Advance Media's Brendan Kuty.

While that advice isn't novel, Gardner laid out how perspective can get lost in the heat of a playoff race:

"All season we've had a lot of ups and downs and we've played some really good baseball and there’s been times, even recently, when we’ve been really frustrating and we’ve played some bad baseball. I think this time of the year it’s important just to slow the game down and realize we still have a great opportunity ahead of us, not to think too far ahead and just focus on the day, focus on the task at hand."

Managing the clubhouse is a vital part of a manager's job—it's right there in the name—and those duties can be easier with players such as Gardner.

The fact that the Yankees are bringing their entire starting outfield back made him a bit expendable, though. Aaron Hicks is entering the fourth year of his seven-year, $70 million extension, while Gallo and Aaron Judge have one more year of arbitration remaining. And Giancarlo Stanton is bound to get some appearances in the field while mostly serving as the designated hitter.

It's still, of course, possible the two sides can work out a new deal. But at least for now, Gardner will be able to explore the open market in free agency.