New York Yankees interested in Kevin Youkilis

According to Jack Curry of YES Network, the New York Yankees have spoken with the agent of 33-year-old Chicago White Sox free agent third baseman Kevin Youkilis. With the news of Alex Rodriguez‘s surgery, the Yanks are actively searching for a stopgap replacement in the interim. It looks like the former rival 3B is on that list, and another former Boston Red Sox starter in Marco Scutaro is a player on the Yankees watch list at this moment in time.

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Curry adds that Youkilis is reportedly willing to take just a one-year deal, provided the money is at a high price. It seems like Brian Cashman is one of those GMs who isn’t adverse to paying premium for one year and would much rather do that than tie up a few years into one player. Handing out big short-term money isn’t a problem for the Yankees, but getting into a bad situation over a few years is not ideal for any team in this league.

All the Yankees want or need in this situation is a one-year deal given to Youk, but I think $6 million is the maximum at this point. Youk had an average season in 2012 with the Red Sox and White Sox, as he was just one home run away from 20 and managed to draw enough walks to bump up a .235 batting average to a .336 OBP.

The Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies have also shown interest in Youkilis, with the White Sox also showing a desire to re-sign the veteran corner infielder.

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