Heyman: Yankees looking to acquire a third baseman

June 28, 2013 by Mike Axisa 38 Comments

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).

Jd

They shoulda picked up Reynolds in the off season
- Aims
  
  ^that
  - trr
    
    Youkilis was to fill that role.
    And yes, that was a poor decision by the F/O, given is injury history.
- Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
  
  0.2 fWAR and -0.3 bWAR so far.
  
  But he’d still be an upgrade.
  - vicki
    
    he’d be a godsend against lhp. and his season numbers would be a little better if you took out the .266ops in 7 games against the yankees.
    - Kramerica Industries
      
      Jeez, remember that week late last season where he had three 2-HR games against the Yankees?
      
      It’s almost like streaky hitters are streaky regardless who they face…
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Lincoln should have waited for the movie adaptation.
  
  Aaron Hernandez should have just had a nice talk with the guy over coffee.
  
  Sting and Luger should have wondered, “Hey, where’s Hogan?”
  - jsbrendog
    
    doink died
    
    sad face
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      Ah, “Maniac” Matt Bourne, aka Big Josh, aka the original Doink.
      
      Pour some licka.
vicki

“…even if [arod] comes back from the hip surgery fine, he’d still see plenty of action at DH.”

or maybe they like my idea of moving him back to his natural position….
Dale Mohorcic

Aramis Ramirez, Michael Young, Trevor Plouffe, Jeff Keppinger, Mark Reynolds, and Placido Polanco.

That’s quite a pupu platter of poopoo.
Ed

I would imagine that they’re operating under the assumption that anyone who can play 3B can also play 1B if necessary. An infielder moving to first tends to be a pretty easy transition.
- Laz
  
  But why not just go get a 1B instead?
  There are tons of players throughout the league that are blocked at 1B, even if their glove is awful.
http://www.twitter.com/matt__harris Matt :: Sec110

How about Cuddyer if the Rockies fall out of it? Not sure they will because that division is pretty close (4 GB), and the 2nd wild card (6.5) could delay his availability.

Hey makes a lot of sense all around. He’s 34, but only under contract for 1 year after this one at 10.5 million. He’s killing it this year and can play both corners and in an absolute emergency could fill in at the corner outfield spots.

Oh and he’s a RIGHTHANDED HITTER!
Dan

What if they traded for Miguel Cabrera???? Wowzers
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  There’d be 39 open 40-man slots, since that’s what it would take. Dombrowski might still hang up.
  - edb
    
    More like 37 roster spots. Arod tex and youk ain’t goin nowhere…well I guess u could put youk on the 60.
FIPster Doofus

Utley to third.
Tyrone Sharpton

Call up the young Jagielo. If there’s anything the NBA and NFL drafts have taught us, it’s that 1st round draft picks making millions shouldn’t be coddled.

Of course, there’s no way I’m being sarcastic.
Eddard

Mutilier should be called up immediately for Adams once he’s healthy. There’s no reason to keep trotting David Adams out there. If Nuney comes back before Mustilier I’d even try him at 3rd over Adams.
- nycsportzfan
  
  agreed.
Doug Hauser

Mark Reynolds??? You must be dreaming…he won’t be available.
jsbrendog

what aboot pronk?
- jsbrendog
  
  allow me to clarify. if they get a 3b and arod comes back, what about pronk? i do not expect him to ever play the field.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    I don’t think the Yankees will feel to bad about getting rid of him if he can’t improve on the .176/.260/.328/.589 line he has since the beginning of May.
jjyank

#acquireplouffy
nycsportzfan

I wanted to see about Plouffe in the offseason. RH power and can play some OF as well as 3rd. I figured the twins would have to shwo they stink before he could be available, but hes still fairly young, and is obviously right handed. I think he’d fit well in this lineup.
Mr. Roth

In related news: According to an unnamed source, NYY RHP Joba Chamberlain is looking to acquire either a cheesesteak or a sauasage and pepper sandwich by the 7:05pm EST deadline.
New Guy

Yea, third and first is really where the upgrades need to come. Between Granderson, Almonte, Wells, Garnder, and Ichiro, the outfield can ride hot hands and mix and match. However, the infield is just a mess. It’s getting to the point where waiting for Jeter to come back may be too little too late. If Cervelli and Jeter can get back around the All-Star break and Cashman comes through with a nice upgrade at one of the corners, then I still the team. I love the pitching (minus Hughes) and a little tune up for the offense will go a long way.
Reggie C.

Move Cano to 3B and trade for Chase Utley.

Every other alternative imagined to date is provides lesser offense from the 3B position. Utley’s offense is still very much above position average. Honestly, how much would it take to get Utley anyway?
- The Tenth Inning Stretch
  
  If anyone moves to third, it’ll be Utley.
vafaculu

This is a testament to the utter failure of the Yankee Farm system, scouts and player development personel. Thank you filthy-mouthed Cashman and Damon Oppenheimer.
Wolfgang’s Fault

They don’t need anyone to actually play there, just a new third base. Get rid of that old smelly flaccid bag they’ve got there now & things just might start looking up.
Mick taylor

Michael young would really help. A really good hitter. Goes to right a lot.He is great friends with jeter
Tom

Would love to see Girardi hit and run here… hole open, good baserunner, make Cano focus on just putting in play.
Crime Dog

They really need to be all over Alex Liddi. He’s substantially better than Gonzalez/Adams at this point.
B the Cashman

David Wright
Nathan

Could use Chavez right about now.