The Yankees Really Stiffed Kahnle, Huh?

Tommy Kahnle was the kind of guy you couldn’t help but root for—a hard-throwing, high-energy reliever who seemed to genuinely love being a Yankee. I dug him in pinstripes. He wasn’t just punching a clock in pinstripes; he wore them like a second skin. And in October, when the lights were brightest, Kahnle delivered. He helped the Yankees win their first pennant since 2009, finishing the postseason with a sparkling 2.08 ERA in nine appearances. He notched a win, a save, and three holds, giving New York everything he had.

But of course, this is the Yankees we’re talking about. After this past World Series, Kahnle hit free agency. And you’d think, after six seasons of service and a postseason performance worth writing home about, the Yankees would at least pretend to be interested in bringing him back.

Nope. Not even close.

On Wednesday’s episode of Foul Territory, Kahnle pulled back the curtain on just how quickly the Yankees slammed the door on him. “Before anything really started to pick up, they were kind of like, ‘We don’t think we can meet your numbers,’” he said. “I feel like they didn’t even try, to be honest.”

“I feel like they didn’t even try to be honest”

Tommy Kahnle says the Yankees made no effort to re-sign him as a free agent pic.twitter.com/IzcIp8B8Xb

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 19, 2025

Ouch.

It wasn’t just that the Yankees passed on Kahnle—they barely even gave him a glance. And for a team with New York’s financial muscle, claiming poverty on a guy who ended up signing a one-year, $7.75 million deal with the Detroit Tigers feels ridiculous. The Yankees probably spend that much annually on clubhouse snacks. But for whatever reason, they just couldn’t find room in the budget—or maybe in their hearts—for Kahnle.

Let’s be real: this wasn’t about money. The Yankees could lose $7.75 million between the cushions of the Steinbrenner family couch. This felt more like apathy, or maybe stubbornness—the kind of move that makes you wonder if the front office is sometimes too busy staring at spreadsheets to see what’s right in front of them.

And Kahnle isn’t just some guy. Over the last three years, he’s been one of the better relievers in the league, posting a 2.44 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a healthy 10.1 K/9 across 96 innings. The Yankees’ bullpen isn’t exactly overflowing with shutdown arms, and bringing Kahnle back could have been a no-brainer for a team with championship aspirations. But instead, they let him stroll off to Detroit without so much as a “Thanks for your service.”

Of course, this is baseball. It’s a business. Players come and go, and loyalty only goes as far as the next contract. But it’s hard not to feel like Kahnle got a raw deal. He wanted to be a Yankee. He played like he wanted to be a Yankee. And yet, when the time came, the Yankees couldn’t even muster up the effort to try.

This is becoming a bit of a pattern, too. The Yankees, with all their history and mystique, have a strange habit of dragging their feet when it comes to keeping the good soldiers around. They either overthink it or just don’t think about it at all. 

Kahnle may have landed on his feet in Detroit, but his departure leaves a little sting…no question. It’s not just the loss of a talented arm—it’s the feeling that the Yankees, in their endless pursuit of The Next Big Thing, might be losing sight of the little things that make a team worth rooting for.

And maybe it’s just business. But it sure feels personal.