After signing a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Yankees last offseason, many expected 2019 to be Brett Gardner’s final year in pinstripes. Especially after taking what amounted to a $3 million pay cut.
However, along the way, Aaron Hicks missed all but 59 games — and all of a sudden, Gardner went from a fourth outfielder to a starting role (98 games in center field) and put up power numbers that surpassed his lone All-Star season of 2015.
In 141 games, the 36-year-old produced a career-high .503 SLG, .839 OPS, 28 home runs and 74 RBIs across 491 at-bats.