Joey Gallo has struggled to find a steady home since the Rangers traded him to the Yankees in 2021.
On Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported that Gallo and the Nationals have agreed to a one-year deal. The deal is expected to be worth $5 million, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
Washington will be Gallo’s fourth team in three years, third since New York traded him to the Dodgers for Clayton Beeter, the Yankees’ No. 6 pitching prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, in 2022. After Los Angeles, he signed a free-agent contract with the Twins ahead of the 2023 season, and now he’s headed to the Nationals.
In the year-plus Gallo was with the Yankees — between July 29, 2021, and Aug. 2, 2022 — Gallo batted an MLB-worst .159 with a .660 OPS, 12th worst among batters with a minimum of 500 plate appearances in that period. In 501 plate appearances, Gallo punched out 194 times, a 38.7 strikeout percentage, the worst in baseball.
This level of performance made Gallo’s time in New York difficult to watch as fans jeered at his performance every chance they got. It got so bad, that players on opposing teams began reaching out to him with words of encouragement.
Gallo expressed the way this made him feel to Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media.
“It makes me feel like a piece of s**t, honestly,” Gallo said before the Yankees traded him to the Dodgers. “I remember playing here with the Rangers, watching [Yankees] get booed off the field and thinking, ‘Holy s**t! I feel bad for that guy.’ Now it’s me. I do appreciate people reaching out, but it makes me feel like I’m a problem.”
In 155 games following his time in New York, it only got worse for Gallo — at least, performance-wise. He managed just 69 hits in 399 at-bats, a .172 batting average, and in 469 plate appearances, he struck out 42.4% of the time.
Manuel Gomez may be reached at [email protected].
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