Jacoby Ellsbury is currently one of the most overpaid players in baseball, and the New York Yankees are hoping they can convince some other team to pay at least part of his remaining salary.
Ellsbury, who is set to make $21 million in each of the next three seasons before he can be bought out for $5 million in 2021, is hitting just .249 this year. He’s lost his starting spot in the outfield with the emergence of Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier, and the Yankees are reportedly exploring trade possibilities for the 34-year-old.
It's doubtful that the Yankees can trade Jacoby Ellsbury during the season, but I'd expect to see them try to move him this winter.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 24, 2017
The Yankees can still try to trade Ellsbury after the July 31 trade deadline. No team is going to claim him off waivers with his contract, so the non-waiver deadline is not a hard date. New York could also continue talks into the offseason if nothing comes together in the coming weeks.
As ESPN’s Buster Olney notes, the Yankees’ best chance for a trade could be to find a team looking to unload a player with a similar contract. Olney mentions starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija, Jordan Zimmermann and Johnny Cueto, who are all still owed a ton of money and are struggling this season.
Ellsbury missed time earlier in the season with some concerning health issues, so that could make him even tougher to move. The outfielder has hit just .260 in three-plus seasons since he signed with the Yankees.
