The Yankees have restocked their farm system over the past couple years, so making a trade for an above average player really wouldn't hurt them in the long run. While there are in-house options, there is no one that has the experience to play everyday. Here are a couple possible replacements:
Mark Teahen, Royals: Teahen is a career .268 hitter who is just starting to come into his form as a major league ball player. He is very versatile and hits left handed, so he would give the Yankees several options off the bench when A-Rod did return. Teahen has never carried much of an average, but he finished the season with a strong September and could be in for a solid season. I expect Teahen to hit around .265 with 15 or so homeruns and an OBP around .325.
Likelihood of being with Yankees: Not very likely. Teahen is a solid player, but he saw a big drop in his OBP and AVG. The drop in walks and increase in homeruns means he was more aggressive at the plate in 2008, but he scored 12 less runs which managers don't really like to see.
Blake DeWitt, Dodgers: DeWitt is coming off his first full season in the big leagues and was very successful. He hit .264 with 9 HR in 117 games last season for the Dodgers, while playing average defense at third and second. He had a .344 OBP and struck out just 68 times. He's off to a slow start this spring, but has a lot of upside.
Likelihood of being with Yankees: Not very likely. DeWitt's best years are ahead of him, but we likely won't see that in 2009, at least not fully. With Rodriguez coming back in May and Robinson Cano already playing second, there really isn't room for DeWitt to get serious at-bats when Rodriguez returns.
Other possibilities: Brendan Harris, Twins. Hank Blalock, Rangers. Chone Figgins, Angels.
2 comments:
The premise of the story is flawed. If you pay attention to prospects and farm systems, you know that the Yankees are currently short on young talent and prospects compared to other teams. Bill James ranks them as one of the worst. Baseball America places them dead in the middle. I haven't read anyone claiming that the Yankees were in good shape prospect/young talent-wise. As a fan, I'd certainly like to hear about this re-stocked talent pool.
Also, the statement that in-house options aren't ready to play everyday is patently false. Cody Ransom is the leading candidate now and could be a starting 3rd baseman on many teams. He's nowhere near A-Rod talent, but he's good enough to fill in.
I can certainly agree with the analysis that the players mentioned aren't very likely to end up on the Yankees, but mostly because just about any deal doesn't make sense for NY right now. The farm system needs every hand they can keep.
I should have been more clear, maybe the Yankees don't have solid prospects across the board, but they have an influx of young pitchers and some young outfielders.
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