Luke Voit Is Heading To Slam Diego - The 2020 Home Run King Has Been Traded To The Padres For a Pitching Prospect

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It was inevitable with the way the roster is constructed — Luke Voit is heading west to Slam Diego as his new home. At the end of the day the Yankees just wanted a partner to dump his $5 million to. The prospect is low end with a high K and BB rate, but he's really nothing special. With Rizzo at first and Stanton/a revolving door of players at DH, there was no room for Luke on this team anymore. He wanted to play and be close to an everyday starter. With the DH now in the NL he'll have that opportunity.

I really want to take a second to appreciate what Luke Voit gave to this organization. First and foremost he got Greg Bird out of our lives for good. Cannot thank him enough for that alone. After coming over from St. Louis with zero expectations Voit quickly turned into a fan favorite who mashed home runs and gave a shit. If Luke Voit was slumping he'd tell you he stunk right to your face. If the team was in a rut he was the guy that would face the media and tell you how it was, not some bullshit that Boone would cook up saying they were about to turn a corner. He was a delight to have a conversation with anytime he hopped on the podcast. 

When he's healthy he is a fantastic hitter at the plate. From 2018-2020 he posted a combined OPS over .900 including winning the home run crown during the 2020 shortened season. He's got his defensive issues at first, but over in San Diego he'll be able to DH as much as they want him to. Injuries doomed him here having the sports hernia in 2019, foot stuff in 2020, and the knee troubles last year. Gotta stay on the field and he had difficulty doing so in 2021 which sparked the Rizzo trade. The defense, health, and not being a lefty caused him to become expendable unfortunately. 

It's sad his time in New York has come to an end, but I think both sides needed a fresh start. Hopefully he mashes out there and is able to give them a boost while Tatis is out for the start of the season. Treat him well Padres nation