Yankees finally release free agent bust Jacoby Ellsbury

The New York Yankees have finally moved on from free agent bust Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Yankees on Wednesday released Ellsbury and designated Greg Bird for assignment as part of moves related to their 40-man roster.

Finally cutting Ellsbury ends what had been a difficult past few years with the outfielder.

The Yankees signed Ellsbury to a 7-year, $153 million contract ahead of the 2014 season. He played well in 2014, batting .271 with 16 homers and 39 stolen bases. All three marks were his best ever with the Yanks, but it was mostly downhill from there.

Ellsbury missed time in 2015 due to a knee injury and lost his starting job; he played below expectations in 2016; and he played in just 112 games in 2017 as he was in and out of the starting lineup.

Ellsbury missed all of 2018 after undergoing hip surgery and all of 2019 due to various injuries.

The 36-year-old outfielder is still owed $21.1 million next season and has a $5 million buyout. He will have given the Yankees a little over three full seasons worth of games on his 7-year deal. He batted just .264 with a .716 OPS as a Yankee, compared to .297 with a .789 OPS during his time with the Red Sox.