New York Yankees fans on free agency: "There’s a legit chance not one of them returns", "Some will resign; I fear most won’t"

After a blazing start to the 2022 season, the New York Yankees just couldn't hit their stride down the stretch. The most storied franchise in the MLB was utterly obliterated by the now-World Series champion Houston Astros in the ALCS.

The thing that boggles the minds of New York Yankees fans right now is, of course, free agency. As the window opened, nine players on the Yankees' main roster have already been listed to have elected for free agency.

This includes Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Benintendi, Chad Green, Zack Britton, Jameson Taillon, Matt Carpenter, Marwin Gonzalez, and Miguel Castro. There are reports that first baseman Anthony Rizzo will be opting out of his player option worth $16 million, but that has yet to be confirmed.

The recent developments, of course, have triggered many in the New York Yankees fanbase. One of them tweeted:

Tensions haven't been this high between the fanbase and the team's ownership in a long time. However, the repercussions of this update could be a turning point in the team's foreseeable history. Consequently, it is understandable that everyone wants to express their opinion on who they want to stay on the team.

Whichever way the Yankees front office decides to go in for the 2023 season, there will surely be polarizing opinions about it. The fanbase is already incensed with executive Brian Cashman's direction (or lack thereof).

New York Yankees at a crossroads

In what could be the most pivotal free agency period for the Yankees in the past decade, they will now have to go all-in on luring their star man Aaron Judge. Reports arose during the season that Yankees executive Brian Cashman offered Judge a $213.5 million deal for seven years but the superstar turned it down.

Judge bet on himself to be healthy and able to produce the numbers this year and that's precisely what he accomplished while tearing down records along the way.

The free agency moves the New York Yankees will make this offseason will certainly be the most talked about across the league. The American League East is as competitive as it has ever been and the Yankees need to make the right moves to right the wrongs from this past season.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

Know More