IF ELLSBURY DOESN'T WANT TO GET TRADED, THEN START PRODUCING!

Photo: Presswire

I know for the fact that Jacoby Ellsbury is a great dude and a terrific teammate. He's also injury prone and sometimes dead weight... season by season, of course.  He also has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Photo: MassLive.com

So when word got out that the Yankees were dabbling in the "Stanton to the Yankees" rumors and BYB wrote ONE WAY THE YANKS CAN GET GIANCARLO STANTON,  it was clear... the world was gonna jump on that no-trade clause and make up stories suggesting that Ellsbury doesn't want to leave New York.  And you know what? They are all right.  He doesn't. That's why the clause is there.  He's also owed a crap load of money.

But here's the thing.  Ellsbury doesn't work in New York anymore.  Good guy, classy teammate aside, the man is an old timer now, crazy as that may sound. Plus, production is down... big time.  Batting .264 with 7 home runs in the 2017 season is just not the player the Yankees wanted when he signed that monster contract with them!  And so, any indication that the Yankees should or want to dump him makes a lot of sense.  The problem is it's gonna be pretty damn hard if he doesn't produce and is still owed of $63 million with a $5 million buyout.

But, can the Yankees unload him? Absolutely.  If they can find a team... pay for the majority of that salary and then basically make Ellsbury feel like he's not welcome, Jacoby will wave that no-trade clause.

Photo: New York Daily News

But let's be honest here... none of this discussion would be happening if THE GUY WOULD JUST PRODUCE! I mean think about this, the highest the guy's ever hit in New York is .271.  That was in 2014. That alone is good enough for me... find a deal Yanks.

Photo: New York Daily News

Look, on a personal level, I like Jacoby, but the Bronx is no longer the place for him.  No biggie, it's business, and ultimately, I'm sure it's about the contract alittle more than the team for him at this point.  He's an 11 year baseball veteran.  34 years old.  Stolen bases have dropped considerably since leaving Boston.  Maybe Miami is looking for an 8 hitter.  Ellsbury is a candidate, right?

If he's batting .331 with 18 home runs... no one's talking about this.  But there's a reason why we are... because he's not.