Via Jon Heyman: The Yankees are looking to acquire a third baseman via trade. This could be an indication they aren’t confident in Alex Rodriguez down the stretch, but remember, even if he comes back from the hip surgery fine, he’d still see plenty of action at DH. Upgrading the hot corner should be one of their top priorities right now.
New York’s third basemen have hit a woeful .238/.294/.325 (69 OPS+) this season thanks to Kevin Youkilis’ continued back trouble and David Adams’ hard time at the big league level. Third basemen like Aramis Ramirez, Michael Young, Trevor Plouffe, Jeff Keppinger, Mark Reynolds, and Placido Polanco could all become available before the trade deadline. Ramirez is owed $25M through next season though, and Heyman says the Yankees consider him too pricey. Hard to blame them given all the other red flags (knee problems, strikeouts up, power down).