Joey Gallo Is Tanking His Value In An Important Year

For decades, there has been a myth around MLB that says players on a contract year will put up the best season of their careers.

To clarify, a “contract year” means the last season before reaching free agency.

New York Yankees slugger Joey Gallo, for example, is in a contract year, the same as Aaron Judge.

The difference is that one of the players, Judge, is shining while the other, Gallo, is tanking all his value.

“We’ve talked about Aaron Judge’s free agent campaign a lot, but Joey Gallo is also in a walk year. He’s hitting .167/.276/.333 in 214 plate appearances this season,” The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler tweeted.

We’ve talked about Aaron Judge’s free agent campaign a lot, but Joey Gallo is also in a walk year. He’s hitting .167/.276/.333 in 214 plate appearances this season.

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) June 29, 2022

Judge smacked his 29th homer of the year on Wednesday afternoon.

Gallo Hasn’t Been Able To Produce

Gallo?

The slumping outfielder is hitting only .167/276/.333 with nine home runs.

Gallo has always been known for his contact issues, but this year, he is striking out at an alarming 39.3 percent rate, by far the highest of any season with everyday playing time.

Ever since landing on the Yankees before last year’s trade deadline, Gallo has struggled to find his footing.

He has tinkered with his mechanics and tried a more aggressive approach, but so far, the results haven’t been there.

Even if he hits between .190 and .220, Gallo has a chance to be successful if he takes a lot of walks, plays his usual great defense in the outfield corners, and hits homers at a 35-40 homer pace.

He is not doing those things, though, and is starting to affect his free agent market with his lousy play.

The Yankees thought they were solving their outfield needs last year when they traded for him, but there is a high chance we see them move for another outfielder via trade this year.