Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft took place this morning and the Yankees acquired 25 year old Jamie Hoffmann from the Nationals as compensation for sending Brian Bruney to them earlier in the week. The rules of the Rule 5 Draft state that Hoffmann must stay on the Yankee active roster for the year or else he would be offered back to the Nationals for half of the price the Yankees paid for him ($50,000). According to reports, the Yankee front office has had interest in Hoffmann for a few years. At this point, Hoffman would compete with Brett Gardner for the fourth outfield spot.
There are a couple wrinkles that could effect the look of the outfield next season. The Yankees are apparently negotiating with Johnny Damon on a contract to bring him back next season. Damon would likely DH and could play the field occasionally to give others a break from the field. Also, teams are contacting the Yankees about possibly trading Gardner or Melky Cabrera, as they currently have five outfielders and would have six if Damon resigns. A likely move would be a trade of Gardner for a minor league prospect because the Yanks do not need another big league player and Gardner became the odd man out after he got hurt last season. The only problem is that he was our fastest player and we would lose that weapon off the bench. I guess we'll see what happens in the following days and weeks.