Tuesday, December 22, 2009

New left fielder?

With the Yankees trading Melky Cabrera to the Braves for Javier Vazquez, they will likely look for a new left fielder to take his spot. The two most notable options would be to bring back Damon, which the Yankees only want to do for the right price, or sign Mark DeRosa to a one year deal for half the price that Damon would likely require. DeRosa is a durable player that could play in the outfield and the infield. He's 34 and a career .275 hitter with some power but he also is said to be a great guy who would fit in well with the Yankees. Damon, if resigned for less than he wanted, could be bitter and might not play as well based on the offseason contract negotiations. Rumors are that the Yankees might make a push for either Jason Bay or Matt Holliday but I don't think that will happen. The Yankees are truly looking to decrease their payroll and those two options would probably increase it compared to last season. They might fake interest in the players to jack up the price for other teams but I would be shocked if they made a real play for either of those two big names. Here are three different options for the Yankee lineup based on the possibility of signing either Damon or DeRosa:
Option 1-
1. Jeter SS
2. Johnson DH
3. Texeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Damon LF
6. Posada C
7. Cano 2B
8. Swisher RF
9. Granderson CF
Option 2-
1. Jeter SS
2. Damon LF
3. Texeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Posada C
6. Cano 2B
7. Swisher RF
8. Johnson DH
9. Granderson CF
Option 3-
1. Jeter SS
2. Johnson DH
3. Texeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Posada C
6. Cano 2B
7. Swisher RF
8. DeRosa LF
9. Granderson CF
I like the idea of batting Granderson ninth because it's like having another lead-off man at the bottom of the line-up with Jeter and either Johnson or Damon in the two hole in front of Texeira and Rodriguez. What might be more likely is that Granderson would bat in front of Swisher in all the line-ups but I like having his speed in front of Jeter rather than in front of Swisher. Thanks and stay tuned for updates!

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