Didi Gregorius’ first public statement after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Yankees was to congratulate two other men no longer with the organization.
The free-agent shortstop used his popular Twitter handle to congratulate former manager Joe Girardi and former teammate Carlos Beltran on landing managerial gigs with the Phillies and the Mets, respectively.
“I want to say Congratulations to one of my old managers Joe Girardi and to one of my ex teammate/mentor @carlosbeltran15 for getting Managing jobs !!!… Well deserved!!” Gregorius tweeted Monday night.
Earlier in the day, the Yanks had declined to tender the one-year $17.8 million qualifying offer to Gregorius, making him a free agent without draft-pick compensation.
Gregorius, who replaced Derek Jeter as the Yankees’ starting shortstop in 2015, earned $11.7 million last season. He missed the first nine weeks of the season following 2018 elbow surgery, finishing with 16 homers, 61 RBIs and a .718 OPS in 344 plate appearances over 82 games.
If Gregorius departs as a free agent, the Yankees can shift Gleyber Torres to shortstop, with DJ LeMahieu manning second base.
Girardi, who was axed as Yankees manager after their ALCS loss to Houston in 2017, was hired by the Phillies last month to replace fired skipper Gabe Kapler. Beltran served as a front office adviser to Yankees GM Brian Cashman last season; he was introduced as Mickey Callaway’s successor as manager of the Mets earlier Monday.