Why did the Yankees Give Up on Luke Voit?

After signing back veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the New York Yankees appeared to be done with their former breakout star, Luke Voit. That has now become true as Voit has been traded to the San Diego Padres for pitching prospect Justin Lange.

Voit broke out for the Yankees in 2018 after a trade from the Cardinals provided him the opportunity in the majors to prove himself, which is exactly what he did. He had a 195 WRC+, tallying 14 home runs in just 39 games.

He continued his solid play into 2018 competing in 118 games, finishing with 21 home runs, a .842 OPS, and a 126 WRC+. All pretty much aligned with his expected numbers and being one of the more disciplined hitters in the league. New York seemingly added another All-Star caliber player to their lineup.

Voit showed out even more in the shortened 2020 season leading the whole league in home runs with 22 across 56 games, tied for 15th with Anthony Rendon in WRC+ at 153, and a .948 OPS that finished 16th in the league, ahead of guys like Fernando Tatis Jr., Corey Seager, and former MVP Mookie Betts.

New York Yankees gave up on Luke Voit

2021 was a down year for Luke with just a 111 WRC+ and .764 OPS, playing only 68 games due to a mixture of injuries and trade deadline acquisition Anthony Rizzo taking up most of the time at first base from August on.

With only one “down” season since 2018, you would think the Yankees would be interested in keeping around a hitter like Voit. But after they were able to bring Rizzo back the trade rumors were in the air and came to fruition as he is off to San Diego. The question I have is why did they give up on him?

Voit did deal with a lot of injury troubles in 2021 with knee surgery, an oblique strain, and a bruised knee. This all goes along with other injury issues from previous seasons with a sports hernia and “foot stuff” from 2019.

New York has really high expectations this year as they have had World Series aspirations for half a decade now if not longer without any positive results so they need everything to go as smooth as possible. That means having reliable, consistent options around the diamond if possible. Rizzo looks to be that for them as he has played at minimum 140 games, 86% of the season, since 2013.

The injury issues Voit has had in the past make him a liability despite his potential to be a much better hitter than Rizzo. Knowing they have someone that will be there every day is why they seem to be moving on.

I understand all of this perspective as they have some big hitters already in the lineup so having a player who you know will provide that consistency might be more valuable. However, the difference between what Voit has been in recent seasons and what Rizzo will most likely be is huge. Voit’s down year is what Rizzo appears to be at this point. There is potential for him to bounce back as well but that does not seem as likely.

Even if Voit puts up numbers similar to 2019 in 2021, that would have put him at arguably a top 10 first baseman in baseball with much more potential for run production and winning more games.

There is a difference in defensive ability to consider as well in this move. Voit has not been a great option at first base and Rizzo has been one of the best in the league for years. Defensive ability has never been coveted at first base but improving their infield on that side seems to be a point of focus with Rizzo coming back and bringing Isiah Kiner-Falefa to potentially be their full-time shortstop.

As shown in this article, Voit has been a fantastic hitter for them. Not only that, but this team has had injury issues throughout the whole squad for years so having the reassurance of Voit being there seemed like the best option moving forward.

But, they seem comfortable with their roster and their team at this point so we will have to wait and see based on the situations they deal with this year and how Voit plays in San Diego if this was the right move for New York going forward.