Joey Gallo has heard trade rumors, but wants to stay with Yankees

The hits have only come here and there. There has been so much swinging at air. Joey Gallo’s bat just hasn’t lived up to the billing since the Yankees brought him over from Texas before the trade deadline last July, and now his name is swirling in the outbound rumor mill.

“I haven’t really obviously kept up with it, but I’m assuming that a lot of people are assuming I’m going to be traded,” Gallo told Newsday, standing by his locker before Tuesday night’s game against Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium. “I don’t really know. I haven’t really heard much. We’ll see. I’ve been through it now last year, so I kind of understand how it all works.

“But right now I’m on this team, and I love playing for this team. I think we have such a great team, and I want to win a World Series. But I understand it’s a business. Things could change. Hopefully they don’t. But I understand.”

That’s the thing. It has been a struggle pretty much since he arrived. He has heard the boos as the strikeouts have mounted. But he doesn’t want out, and especially at this time of the year.

“Getting traded in the middle of the season is [expletive] tough,” Gallo said. “Going through that last year was really, really hard. I love it here. It’s one of the best teams I’ve ever been on, not just on the field, but just personality-wise, the group of guys we have. It’s a special group. I love playing here. Hopefully I’ll be here.”

The 28-year-old outfielder is a two-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner and free agent-to-be. The Yankees, with the best record in the majors, could look to do some fine- tuning with the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaching.

There have been a number of outfield names mentioned in the inbound rumor mill as possibilities to replace Gallo, with Kansas City’s Andrew Benintendi, another free agent-to-be, being the most notable.

Gallo opened in left in this series opener with a 70-game slash line of just .166/.288/.341. That came with four doubles, one triple, 10 homers, 21 RBIs and 92 strikeouts in 205 at-bats.

That followed a 58-game slash line of .160/.303/.404 with 13 homers and 22 RBIs for the Yankees in 2021. He has had two seasons of at least 40 homers, plus 38 combined with his two teams last season.

At least Gallo has been encouraged by his at-bats in recent days.

“I feel good,” Gallo said. “I’ve felt like I’ve had good at-bats. I’m seeing the ball well. … I’ve felt a lot better as of late getting my swing off.”

Aaron Boone was encouraged by a homer and a couple of walks.

“Hopefully small things that can go a long way in kind of unlocking him because clearly the ability and the work ethic is there,” the manager said.

Gallo took a career .202 average into Tuesday, so the .166 in the slash line wasn’t particularly alarming to him.

“Average, I always struggle with average,” Gallo said. “It’s not anything surprising. I think offensively I wish I was a little bit better on base and slugging. So that’s been tough. It’s been, I guess, a tough year mentally for me. Just trying to stay positive and play every day and continue to just be my best self and help the team.

“But obviously I wish I was playing better. But it’s baseball and at some point, things turn. And hopefully they will.”