The injury bug has bitten the Yankees again putting A-Rod on the disabled list with a non-displaced left hand fracture. There has been no formal timetable for the superstar third baseman’s return, but similar injuries have taken six to eight weeks to recover from for other players. The Yankees have had injury issues now with Brett Gardner, Andy Pettite, and CC Sabathia, Sabathia being the only Yankee to return thus far.
Although A-Rod is no longer the MVP he once was he is still considered in the top 50th percentile of third basemen in the league by ESPN’s Buster Olney. Brian Cashman eluded a few weeks ago to a quiet trade deadline for the Yankees, which has been anything but with the signing of Ichiro Suzuki to replace Gardner, and now it would be smart for the Yankees to shop for a third baseman to fill the void left by Rodriguez.
Putting Eric Chavez on third and shopping for a DH might actually be a more reasonable reaction to the A-Rod injury, especially if he will be back by November. Money however is obviously not an issue for the Yankees so if they do try and bring someone in it will be interesting to see who they go after. This injury could bring a new opportunity, or an expensive bust, but I will be interested in seeing how Cashman handles this quiet time before the trade deadline.
