Yankees Rumors: Raul Ibanez, the DH Role and Delayed Trade
By Editorial Staff
The New York Yankees are coming off a busy weekend, but likely still have a few moves to make this winter. Most of the news regarding the Yankees has dealt with their search for a designated hitter. Newsday’s Ken Davidoff believes he has found the veteran fit for New York, while Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the Yankees can still get creative to fill their void at DH. Meanwhile, visa and physicals are complicating completion of the Yankees flurry of moves this weekend.
New York has yet to officially announce the acquisitions of Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda due to several delays.
Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports reports that Jesus Montero, who’s heading to Seattle in exchange for Pineda, has been waiting for his visa issue to be resolved. Until it is and Montero’s able to travel to Seattle and complete a physical, the swap cannot be made official.
Hiroki Kuroda is still in Japan, meaning that he’s yet to make it to Yankees facilities to complete his physical. As a result, the Kuroda signing has yet to be made official.
Still, it’s evident that the Yankees have solidified their starting rotation. At this point, all that is left for New York to do is decide who will fill their designated hitter role in 2012.
Several names have been floated, but potentials have been whittled down because it’s being reported that the Yankees only have $1-2 million to spend on a DH.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday believes this could result in the Yankees ultimately agreeing to a deal with veteran free agent Raul Ibanez. Davidoff feels Ibanez is a fit mostly because he’s a left-handed hitter.
While it does appear the Yankees are trying to stay under a certain projected payroll, Jon Heyman believes the club could create some wiggle room by dealing one of its high-priced veterans.
With the additions of Pineda and Kuroda, A.J. Burnett looks like more of an albatross than ever. Heyman believes the Yankees could look to trade Burnett and in the process save $10 million or so that could be spent on a higher-quality designated hitter.
For more on the Yankees, be sure to check out Yanks Go Yard.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.