3 Players Who Won't Be on the Yankees Roster After 2020 Season

Whenever the 2020 MLB season does get started in earnest, the New York Yankees will be sporting one of the deepest rosters in all of baseball.

Unfortunately, the 2021 Yankees could look a lot different, as several key players both in the rotation and in the starting lineup are scheduled to hit free agency. The 2021 offseason could force the Yankees to part ways with these three key players.

3. Brett Gardner

Just when you think the Yankees are finally going to give up on Gardner, he gets incredibly hot for a brief period of time and is rewarded with a brand new contract for the following year. The Yankees have a club option for the 2021 season, but is a 37-year-old outfielder who wouldn't start when everyone is healthy worth bringing back for an eight figure salary? Probably not. 2020 might be Gardner's final season in pinstripes.

2. Masahiro Tanaka

Tanaka was the marquee addition of the 2014 offseason for the Yankees, and the Japanese star has rewarded the team's faith in him with six solid seasons, two of which included All-Star game nominations. Tanaka's seven-year contract, however, is up at the end of this year, and he is coming off a season in which he posted the second-highest ERA of his career. Considering the wave of pitching prospects expected to hit the major leagues soon, Tanaka might need to be jettisoned in order to allow the next generation of stars to get playing time.

1. James Paxton

The Yankees traded some big pieces to the Seattle Mariners in order to get the deal for Paxton done, and it appears they'll get only 1.5 seasons out of the left-hander. Paxton has yet to post an ERA above 4.00 in his career, but the Yankees could be turned off paying a pitcher who will be 32 in 2021 a significant sum of money when he has yet to start 30 games in a season. That injury risk might be what prevents the Yankees from bringing him back into the fold with a handsome contract.