Brett Gardner was still waiting to find out if he would return to the Yankees as pitchers and catchers began to report to spring training, but after a long wait that included contemplating retirement or signing elsewhere, Gardner is back where he always wanted to be.
“All three were kind of on the table, to be honest,” Gardner said of the options to either retire, rejoin the Yankees or sign with another club. “But I knew I didn’t want my career to end the way it did last year against the Rays and not being able to play in front of fans all year for the most part. Obviously my family wanted to see me play again, so I went into the offseason fully expecting to play again and to be playing here. Obviously it took a while for that to come together. I was open-minded to going to other places…but ultimately this is where I wanted to be at.”
While Gardner had no choice but to search around for other options as the Yanks went months through the offseason without communicating with their longest-tenured player, his heart remained on returning to the Bronx, which he finally did in the form of a $2.85 million deal with a player option for 2022.
“I wouldn’t say a lot of exploring,” Gardner said. “Obviously it took a lot of time for things to work out and to officially return here and be a Yankee again. But I was hopeful the whole time. I’ve never been shy about my desire to finish my career here. Very excited it all worked out. Just excited to be back and be a part of this group of guys.”
Gardner, now back for his 14th season, isn’t holding any resentment for the delay or lack of communication through the winter from the Yanks, who were in need of a quality fourth outfielder.
“It was frustrating,” Gardner said. “I have a wife and two young kids and my wife loves to be organized and loves to plan things out, and nine or 10 days ago I wasn’t sure if I was coming back here or not. Doing everything last minute and packing the house up and all that, I would have liked to have had more time, but it all worked out how I wanted it to…no hard feelings towards anyone for that.”
Gardner is officially back for what could be his final season (he wouldn’t say if 2021 would be his last), but his 14th year brings back memories of his early years with the team, as he now finds himself on the outside looking in as far as the starting lineup is concerned. The starting left field spot belongs to Clint Frazier, according to Aaron Boone, but Gardner will be ready to fill in to whatever role is needed, which could be an everyday one if the team continues to battle injury like it has over the past two seasons.
“I’ve always had the mindset that I had to fight for playing time, whether it was as a young guy and trying to beat out a guy like Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Nick Swisher…all veteran players,” Gardner said. “Now the tables have turned and I’m that veteran player, and obviously there are guys that are fighting to get those at-bats. For me, I obviously knew what the outfield picture looked like coming in…whatever the team needs me to do to help on a daily basis, I’ll be ready. Whatever my role is, I accept it.”
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