With Freddy Garcia now on board, the Yankees have just about finished their offseason shopping. It hasn’t been an ideal or even a fun winter, but it is what it is and life goes on. The Andruw Jones signing solidified the bench, but the Yanks are still one man short unless they plan on carrying both Eduamiro and Penunez. That’s why I want to talk about Oscar Salazar.

The 32-year-old Salazar was designated for assignment by the Padres yesterday, having been made redundant by Jorge Cantu. The former Mexican Leaguer first broke in with the Tigers way back in 2002, then battled a bunch of injuries before resurfacing with the Orioles in 2008. Baltimore shipped him to San Diego midway through the 2009 season in exchange for Cla Meredith.

So what does Salazar do that he’s worth talking about? Well, for one he can hit, at least better than most bench players. His .237/.318/.336 (.289 wOBA) batting line in 148 plate appearances last season won’t show that, but he was suppressed a bit by Petco Park (.258 wOBA at home, .322 on the road) and hit .295/.367/.500 (.373 wOBA) in 248 trips to the plate as a reserve player in 2008 and 2009. He never had an ISO worse than .190 until he got to Petco, and his career walk rate is very strong at 10.3% (10.8% last year). Even if Salazar drops to say, a .150 ISO and an 8.0% walk rate, he’s Babe Ruth compared to a who’s occupying that last bench spot now.

Not only can Salazar hit a little, but he’s also pretty versatile. He played every position other than pitcher, catcher, shortstop, and centerfield for the Padres last year, though most of his work came in the outfield. The sample sizes aren’t large enough for the advanced metrics to be meaningful, but the fans’ scouting report has him below average in leftfield. We can safely assume he’s below average everywhere else. What can you do, one game a week with a below average defensive player in the field won’t kill ya.

One of the problems with the Yankees’ bench right now is that it’s very right-handed. Jones, Frankie Cervelli, Nunez, even Greg Golson, they all bat right-handed. Pena is a switch-hitter, but he’s not scaring anyone with the stick. Salazar is a righty batter as well, so it’s not a great fit, but he does have a reverse platoon split for his career (.350 wOBA vs. RHP, .333 vs. LHP). That’s in a small sample though, so the data isn’t reliable. The Yanks are going to end up carrying a bunch of righties anyway, might as well carry one that can outhit the others and at least fake defense all over the field.

The 40-man roster is full at the moment, so full that the Jones signing isn’t even official yet. They’re probably waiting for Spring Training to start before finalizing it so they could clear a spot by sticking Damaso Marte on the 60-day DL. If the Yankees want Salazar, they won’t have to claim him off waivers. They could simply wait until he clears and elects free agency, then sign him to a minor league contract. If someone claims him or he chooses to remain with San Diego or doesn’t want to sign with New York, then so be it. It’s not the end of the world.

I still prefer Willy Aybar because he’s a switch-hitter with power, but Salazar would be an upgrade over Nunez or Pena or Golson or whoever else the team has in-house for that last bench spot. They don’t even have to give him the job outright, let him compete for it in Spring Training. It’s not a big upgrade, just a marginal one, but every little bit helps. Given the cost, it makes a ton of sense. Which means it probably won’t happen.