Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury entered camp healthy last year but went down less than two weeks after the Yankees' first full-squad workout. He suffered an oblique strain during batting practice March 2 and a setback a month later forced Ellsbury to shut down his rehab program. By mid-April, he was also battling a hip injury and plantar fasciitis. From there, it was mostly stop-and-start with his activity until August, when Ellsbury was forced to undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his left hip. The Yankees say that Ellsbury should be good to go come spring training, but it's tough to have much faith in that assessment or feel good about his chances of holding up given Ellsbury's age and injury history. Factor in the likelihood that Ellsbury is the team's fourth outfielder in a best-case scenario and Ellsbury looks like waiver-wire fodder in mixed leagues. In AL-only, Ellsbury still has a shred of appeal given his track record of contributing on the basepaths.

Ellsbury continues to produce acceptable, albeit unspectacular numbers as the Yankees' most expensive position player on the payroll. With three years remaining on the deal at more than $21 million annually, the Yankees may ultimately be forced to continue with him as a part of their mix in the outfield. Nevertheless, Ellsbury showed a more patient eye at the plate in 2017, walking at a 10 percent clip, and maintaining his typically low strikeout rate (15.4 percent). He doesn't have a ton of pop, but he continues to show useful and effective speed on the basepaths, going 22-for-25 in base-stealing attempts last season. In addition to more competition for playing time, Ellsbury continued to battle injuries last season, losing time to an elbow injury and a concussion. Even if the Yankees were to find a taker for his contract, projecting him for more than 125 games in any given year is risky as he's now 34 years old.

Now through three years of a seven-year, $153 million contract, it's clear the Yankees aren't getting what they expected out of Ellsbury. The center fielder stayed healthy enough to play in 148 games and saw improvement across the board from a disappointing 2015 season, but his production was nowhere close to the level from his earlier years in Boston or even during his first year with New York in 2014. In addition to his struggles at the plate, the former speedster attempted just three steals in the final two and a half months, as that element of his game continues to decline. On the positive side, Ellsbury drew a career-high 54 walks, ensuring that he was still able to work his way on base at a decent clip despite a disappointing .263 average. It's wise to expect further skills regression as he enters his age-33 season, but Ellsbury should open the year atop the order and he still does enough across the board to remain on the mixed-league radar.

Ellsbury got off to a red-hot start in 2015, his second season of a seven-year, $153 million contract, slashing .324/.412/.372 with 14 steals through 37 games, but the recurring health issue that has hampered him throughout his career resurfaced, as he hit the DL with a sprained right knee. The injury sidelined him until July, and the 32-year-old wasn't the same player after returning. The center fielder hit just .215 in his first month back on his way to a .220/.266/.326 second half with just seven steals, putting him on the bench for the club's lone playoff game. The team has too much money invested in him to do anything but insert Ellsbury as the Opening Day center fielder and likely leadoff man, but through two seasons in New York he has failed to live up to his contract. Turning 33 in 2016, his production may not fully rebound, as his Yankees tenure may be marking the beginning of a steady decline rather than representing a two-year outlier.

The Yankees were big spenders in free agency after the 2013 season, and Ellsbury's seven-year, $153 million contract was a pillar of their new roster. Although his walk rate (7.7%) was in line with his career average, his .328 on-base percentage was nearly 20 points below his career mark (.347). Ellsbury spent some time as the team's No. 3 hitter, swatting 16 homers – his highest total since 2011 – and driving in 70 runs (the second best mark of his career). He showed more favorable splits in his new home park (.303/.370/.451), but it should be noted that nine of his home runs were hit on the road in 2014. Late season injuries to his left ankle and right hamstring likely kept him from eclipsing the 40-steals mark for the fourth time in his career, as he stole just two bases in September after racking up 37 steals through the first five months.

Ellsbury once again proved to be an impact hitter atop Boston's lineup with game-changing baserunning skills in 2013. He did nothing to hurt the big payday he got this offseason. Everything he does will pale in comparison to his MVP-caliber season in 2011 - the 32 bombs he hit that season are an outlier - but Ellsbury slugged .426 and had a .781 OPS last season, second-best of his career in both categories. The Yankees inked Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million deal in December, and he will set the table for fellow free-agent additions Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann in pinstripes.

Ellsbury had another injury-plagued season in 2012 as he missed three months due to a shoulder injury. He hit just four home runs with a .693 OPS in the second half after he returned as he never seemed to get on track. Ellsbury was coming off of a 32-home run/39-stolen base season in 2011 that nearly won him the MVP award. However, he's now missed significant time in two of the last three seasons as he missed most of 2011 with broken ribs. Ellsbury is a risk to be traded this season as he enters his final year before free agency and it's not clear if the Red Sox will sign him to a long-term deal given his injury history and aggressive agent (Scott Boras). The power production in 2011 may be an outlier in the long run, but he should provide double-digit home-run power if healthy and his speed makes him a fantasy star.

Ellsbury turned in an MVP-caliber season for Boston in 2011, finishing second in MVP balloting to a pitcher, winning his first Silver Slugger award and his first Gold Glove. He's setting himself up for a monstrous payday next offseason. We've seen hints at good multi-skill productivity from Ellsbury, but reaching 30 homers was not part of the forecast, at least not for 2011. Ellsbury will return to same role he held last season as Boston's starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.

Ellsbury got hurt early on in 2010, suffering broken ribs after colliding with teammate Adrian Beltre and didn't play an important role in Boston's season. His recovery was slower than expected, and then we learned the Ellsbury's injury was more serious than originally diagnosed by the team's medical staff. That led Ellsbury (at the behest of agent Scott Boras) to seek second opinions and rehabilitation away from the team. It also led to a disconnect to some extent between the player and the team. Whatever the relationship between the two sides, it looks like Ellsbury is on schedule for offseason workouts and he'll return as Boston's leadoff hitter and center fielder in 2011.

Ellsbury's on-base percentage may be less than desirable for the modern era's idea of a leadoff hitter, but there's no doubting he can be a disruptive presence atop the batting order. Ellsbury stole a franchise-high 70 bases last year while improving his theft success rate to 85.4 percent. After getting dropped from the leadoff spot in May, Ellsbury eventually returned to the top spot in the order and posted a .355 OBP -- not great, but something Boston can live with. As he matures as a hitter, and with the organization's fascination with plate patience, we expect Ellsbury to improve that part of his game. He often plays through minor injuries and should get plenty of plate appearances in 2010.

Ellsbury slumped badly in the middle of the season and was dropped in the batting order as a result, but finished with a strong September. His superior speed and good defensive ability didn't slump, but he seemingly forgot how to take a walk after May. A wrist and tailbone injury may have played a role in his mid-season funk. He'll need to be consistent because Boston traded away Coco Crisp and presently doesn't have a suitable center field backup. As such, Ellsbury will begin the season as the starting center fielder and most likely the club's leadoff man.

Ellsbury lit a fire for the Red Sox in September and October, appearing to have won the starting center field job from Coco Crisp. His defensive skills are top notch, and he's a game changer atop the batting order. Whether he'll be batting leadoff in Boston or Minnesota is the big offseason question. His name is front and center in the Johan Santana trade talks. A good baserunner who knows how to get on base, Ellsbury is ready to blossom in 2008.

Ellsbury, the organization's top prospect, hit .303 as a leadoff hitter between stops at high-A Wilmington and Double-A Portland, where he finished the 2006 season. He has superior defensive skills, but offensive ability, too. He has good plate discipline (53:49 K:BB in 442 AB), knows how to get on base (.382 OBP), and can take an extra one (41 SB, 70.6% success rate). He'll probably start in Portland and finish in Triple-A, but a September call-up is possible.

Ellsbury was Boston's first-round pick in the 2005 draft and has excellent speed and plate discipline (Baseball America rated his strike zone judgment as third-best in the NCAA). After hitting .406 at Oregon in 2005, he spent his first season in the pros with Boston's Single-A affiliate in Lowell (Mass.), where he stole 23 bases and had a .418 OBP in 35 games.