Luke Voit awaits his Yankees fate as lockout continues

TAMPA — Luke Voit has spent the offseason like many others: waiting for the lockout to end and to seek out out if he’s nonetheless going to play first base for the Yankees.

“I wish to play first base for the Yankees,’’ Voit mentioned. “If that occurs, nice. If not, I’ll go someplace else.”

When requested if he anticipated to stay with the Bronx Bombers, Voit responded, “I count on to. I’m the one first baseman on the depth chart proper now.”

That’s as a result of Anthony Rizzo, who took Voit’s job final yr after a July commerce from the Cubs, is now a free agent.

Basic supervisor Brian Cashman introduced previous to the MLB lockout that first base was among the many areas of want on the roster. That can nonetheless be the case at any time when the work stoppage involves an finish and the Yankees look to fill out their roster, with potential additions at shortstop, heart area, the rotation and probably catcher, as nicely.

There are several directions the Yankees could go in at first base.

Voit is probably going due about $5.4 million in arbitration subsequent season, and is coming off a tough yr by which he handled a torn meniscus in his left knee that required surgical procedure throughout spring coaching. He later hung out on the IL for irritation in his left knee, in addition to a strained proper indirect.

Voit’s manufacturing fell off after he led the majors in homers within the COVID-shortened 2020 season and he was shut down by his knee damage on the finish of final yr.

The 30-year-old insists he’s totally wholesome now and shall be prepared for spring coaching if it begins on time, which might be in lower than two weeks for place gamers.

Nonetheless, he’s coming off a season by which he performed simply 68 video games and his OPS dropped from .948 to .764, his worst output as a Yankee.

The accidents led the Bronx Bombers to go after Rizzo and a reunion stays a definite risk.

The Yankees may additionally look to accumulate Matt Olson from the A’s in a commerce or signal free agent Freddie Freeman, who surprisingly didn’t get a brand new deal from Atlanta earlier than the lockout.

If the Yankees find yourself with any of these bats, Voit will virtually actually be traded.

For now, he stays a Yankee.

“I like taking part in in New York,’’ Voit mentioned. “The followers love me up there and I like them. I hope it may occur and I can keep, however I don’t management it.”

And whereas he understands why the Yankees went out and received Rizzo final yr, he’s assured he can nonetheless contribute in The Bronx.

“I get why they did it,’’ Voit mentioned of the commerce. “I used to be damage and on the [IL] a bunch final yr and I get that. They need the lefty bats, too. However I even have accomplished my justifiable share there and had some actually good at-bats over the past 4 years.”