Aaron Boone speaks on the New York Yankees not bringing back shortstop Didi Gregorius for the upcoming 2020 season.
This offseason, Didi Gregorius‘ five-year tenure with the New York Yankees came to an end. The organization passed on the opportunity to offer the veteran shortstop a qualifying offer and dedicated much of their focus on signing All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole. Thus, Gregorius inked a one-year, $14 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
It was a tough decision for the Yankees, but securing Cole was the ultimate objective. This week, manager Aaron Boone discussed Gregorius’ ultimate exit. He did so while appearing at Washington Elementary School in Summit, NJ, partnering with Hess to help students with a STEM project with the 2019 Hess Tow Truck Rescue Team.
“Didi’s been a great player for us and a great Yankee. Another two-way player,” Boone said, per Brian Fonseca of NJ Advance Media. “Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t keep everyone.”
Gregorius is coming off a rough season. Having battled injuries, the 29-year-old only appeared in 82 games, hitting 16 home runs with 61 RBIs in that span of time. His .238 batting average was his lowest single-season average since joining the Bombers.
While answering questions from students, Boone continued to speak on the end of Gregorius’ time in the Bronx.
“One of the hard parts of the job is sometimes really good players and people leave and go to another team. It’s part of it. Didi is one of those guys,” Boone said. “Not only a great player but a guy that was really popular with our team and amongst our teammates. He’s on to Philly now, where I know he’s going to do great. We wish him well, and we’re glad he’s in the other league. As I told him the other day, hopefully we’ll meet in October (in the World Series).”
Gregorius will be reuniting with Joe Girardi, who’s the new skipper in Philly. Girardi previously managed Didi from 2015-17.
