"I didn't live up to expectations" - Joey Gallo makes heartbreaking admission as tenure with New York Yankees nears its end

Joey Gallo’s final days with the New York Yankees seems to be on the horizon.

The acquisition of Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals all but confirmed that the Yankees are ready to pull the plug on the 28-year-old.

The scrutiny toward him has been intense, and the fan abuse has been constant. Sure, Gallo hasn’t been performing well, but one can’t help but wonder what could have possibly been.

New York is, indeed, a tough place to not play well at. Reflecting on his torrid time in the Bronx, Gallo shared his thoughts during a conversation with The Athletic's Lindsey Adler.

“Every time I see a Yankees hat, every time I see a Yankees jersey, it’s something I’m going to have to understand. I didn’t play well as a Yankee. I wish I had.

“I feel bad,” Gallo said. “It’s something I’m gonna have to really live with for the rest of my life. It’s going to be tough. I didn’t play well. I didn’t live up to expectations. And that’s a tough pill to swallow.”

All things considered, it would be really surprising to see him remain on Aaron Boone’s roster beyond the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

New York Yankees nightmare is not the end of the road for Joey Gallo

Cincinnati Reds v New York Yankees

Let’s not forget why the Yankees went for him in the first place. While at the Texas Rangers, Gallo was averaging .233 at the time and had back-to-back 40-homer seasons in 2017 and 2018. With the exception of 2020, his slugging percentage has never dipped below .490. Gallo earned two All-Star call-ups during this period.

The Yankees acquiring Gallo made complete sense on paper. New York’s offense has been heavily dominated by right-handers like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and Gleyber Torres. Gallo was expected to balance that out by being a consistent, heavy-hitting left-handed threat.

However, expectations and reality are two completely different things. His OPS dropped from .869 with the Rangers to .707 with the Yankees for the remainder of 2021. So far this year, it’s a meager .621 across 81 games.

Could Gallo have delivered if the relentless criticism took a break and allowed him some breathing space? That now seems like a rhetorical question.

A move away from the Bronx could be the best thing to happen for Joey Gallo’s career. Away from the constant criticism and barrage of expectations, he could use that breathing space to build his way back up.