Back in spring training, the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres discussed a trade involving Joey Gallo, the New York Post reports. A deal did not come together because the Yankees are "believed to have been seeking a return befitting his ability, not his recent achievements."
Gallo, 28, struggled after joining the Yankees in a trade with the Texas Rangers at last summer's deadline and he's started slowly this year, going 4 for 33 (.121) with 15 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits in 12 games. In 70 games with the Yankees, Gallo has hit .154/.296/.362 with 13 home runs and 103 strikeouts.
"I'm not playing well enough right now to be in the starting lineup everyday. I understand that," Gallo told reporters, including NJ.com's Brendan Kuty, about being benched Wednesday. "... Whatever's best for the team. I haven't been getting great results right now. It's part of the process of playing a full season and whatnot. Some guys are swinging the bat really well and helping us win games. It's more important to do today. These guys are going to help us win while I'm figuring it out."
The Padres reportedly tried acquire Gallo at last year's trade deadline and GM A.J. Preller has a long history of bringing in players he is familiar with from his days in the Texas front office. Current Padres Jorge Alfaro, Nick Martinez, and Jurickson Profar overlapped with Preller during their time with the Rangers, as did Gallo when he was a minor leaguer.
Gallo was an All-Star with the Rangers last year, hitting .223/.379/.490 with 25 home runs in 95 games prior to the trade. He is a flawed hitter who strikes out excessively, though he makes up for it with walks (league-leading 111 walks last year) and power, as well as Gold Glove defense and sneaky excellent base running. Gallo has yet to perform at the plate with the Yankees, however.
April trades are rare, particularly April trades involving two clubs trying to contend, though the Yankees and Padres could always revisit their Gallo trade talks closer to the deadline. In April, every team is still evaluating what they have on their roster and what their needs are, exactly. The fact the Yankees would need an outfielder to replace Gallo complicates a potential trade as well.
It should be noted that, in the Chris Paddack trade with the Twins, the Padres received $6.6 million in cash, allowing them to stay under the $230 million competitive balance tax threshold (FanGraphs puts their payroll at $228.8 million). Gallo is making $10.275 million this year, his final season prior to free agency. To make a trade work financially, either the Yankees would need to kick in a lot of money, or the Padres would have to be willing to pay luxury tax.
The Yankees and Padres did make a trade in spring training. San Diego acquired Luke Voit from the Yankees for a prospect, and it's possible the Padres initially inquired about Gallo, and when the two sides couldn't find a match, they moved on to Voit. Voit has stepped in as the San Diego's DH, and the Padres could still use a corner outfielder.
