Didi Gregorius Does Not Receive Qualifying Offer

Is Sir Didi's time as New York's starting shortstop over?

The Yankees elected not to extend Didi Gregorius a $17.8 million qualifying offer ahead of Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Gregorius now enters free agency. If he signs elsewhere this offseason, the Yankees won’t receive draft pick compensation. 

New York can still re-sign him, but this decision is likely an indication as to the direction this team is headed this winter.

Gregorius struggled upon his return to the club after he underwent Tommy John surgery last October. In 82 games, the shortstop had an OPS of .718 along with a .238 batting average.

Coming off a down year, and with his recent injury, it seems the Yankees believe Gregorius is no longer as appealing as a long-term asset. 

Instead of investing close to $20 million in the shortstop position, New York can now set aside more funds to address other needs -- namely starting pitching. Plus, with 22-year-old Gleyber Torres capable of taking over at shortstop and DJ LeMahieu poised for another tremendous season at second base, letting Gregorius walk is an easier pill to swallow.

If this is in fact the end of his time in pinstripes, both the Yankees and Gregorius can look back positively on their five-year relationship.

The Yankees acquired Gregorius from the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014 -- in a three-way deal including the Detroit Tigers -- and for someone with the impossible task of replacing Derek Jeter, New York truly couldn’t have asked for much more.

As the Yankees' starting shortstop, Gregorius mashed 97 home runs, drove in 360 total runs and blossomed into a leader in the clubhouse. And, of course, he was responsible for plenty of memorable moments...

For the 29-year-old moving forward, his ability to hit for power in the middle of the order will be the deciding factor in free agency.

Even as he recovered from surgery, Gregorius hit 16 home runs in 2019 and was on a 162-game pace for 32 long balls, which would have been a new career high. In fact, since 2016, only two other shortstops (Trevor Story and Francisco Lindor) have hit more homers.

In this league, there’s always a need for power threats -- only a significant pay cut, however, could land Didi a spot back with the Yankees.