Will Yankees Fill Void Left By A-Rod Injury With Trade?

Posted by on Jul 25th, 2012

New York Yankees newsThe natural inclination of baseball fans would be to answer yes, the Yankees will fill the void left by Alex Rodriguez’ injury.

The question is will that void be filled from within the organization or will they reenter the trade market in search of a replacement, like Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres.

According to some, the Yankees have entertained the idea of making a trade for Headley, but do they need to make that kind of a deal to get through this injury? No doubt adding Headley would fill the void. Headley is hitting .265 with 11 home runs.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, said he would not be looking into the market to replace Rodriguez, although quickly added the qualifier, that he did not think he would be adding Ichiro either

 Why the Yankees don’t need to make a trade for Headley

  • The asking price is said to be extremely high for the Padres’ Headley. While that’s never steered the Yankees away from making a trade, Cashman seems comfortable with playing Eric Chavez, Jayson Nix and Ramiro Pena, until Rodriguez returns.
  • The Yankees are in a commanding position in the American League East. Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto all have weaknesses that may prevent them from making a legitimate run at the Yankees. Baltimore needs pitching, from starters to the bullpen. Tampa Bay needs offense and Evan Longoria coming back likely won’t be enough. Toronto needs  pitching from top to bottom. Boston is hurt, has been hurt all year, sending 22 players to the DL. The players that are healthy have not performed up to their normal standard, example, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. And we have yet to discuss Bobby Valentine and his impact. Doing without Rodriguez for eight weeks, perhaps less,  shouldn’t be a factor in winning the division.
  • Whatever resources the Yankees have in the way of trading chips should be used to acquire pitching. If the Yankees are to go deep into the playoffs and reliable starting pitcher is a must have. Offensively the Yankees can’t compete with any team in the American League.  Take Rodriguez out of the lineup and they can still compete with any team in the American League.
The Yankees were dinged with the loss of Rodriguez, but did not suffer irreparable damage. That being said, make a big splash trade for a replacement just isn’t necessary.