Jacoby Ellsbury New York Yankees
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

The rumor mill continues to churn, this time bringing to the surface talks of Jacoby Ellsbury being traded from the New York Yankees.

Allison Case

The last time Jacoby Ellsbury stepped on the field for the New York Yankees, dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Okay, that’s a severe exaggeration but you get the point. Jacoby Ellsbury has been a thorn in the side of the Yankees ever since his signing in 2014. Now the Yankees are in discussions to potentially trade the oft-injured outfielder.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the latest discussions over a potential Jacoby Ellsbury trade have come from the San Francisco Giants.

Embrace the rumors, Yankees fans. If this one pans out, the Yankees might actually get something in return for Ellsbury, which would be far better than simply cutting him.

Olney also reports the possibility of the Yankees doing a contract swap for starter Johnny Cueto. The 32-year-old is coming off Tommy John surgery after a few injury-plagued seasons.

Swapping one injured player for another. Hmm, interesting concept.

However, the Yankees already have a crowded outfield. With Brett Gardner signing a one-year deal, Clint Frazier coming up through the ranks, Aaron Hicks holding down center field and Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge holding down right field, there is essentially no room for Ellsbury on the roster.

As Ellsbury has aged, his stats have only gotten worse. In his four seasons on the Yankees, he’s posted a .264/.330/.386 line, a far cry from his massive success in Boston. At the time of the signing, it was considered a steal. Today, it’s looking like a failure.

But if the Yankees could get something in return, even if it is an aging, injured pitcher, it would be a win for them. Maybe it’ll teach them down the line to not make such risky signings in the future.

Can the Yankees pull off the unthinkable? They were able to get a solid return from the Sonny Gray trade. Maybe Jacoby Ellsbury is the next piece to leave the Bronx. Fans can only hope so.


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.