ARod out until September with Broken Hand and other Yankees news

KEVIN P. CASEY/AP

ARod joined the list of the wounded with a non-displaced hand fracture that will sideline him for the next 6-8 weeks. With the exception of the switch hitters Teixeira and Swisher, ARod was the Yankees only regular right handed power bat and now the injury prone Chavez will need to play almost everyday. The Yankees could make a move for a third baseman, but I do not know how likely that is as I expect that it is more likely they could look for a versatile bench bat or just platoon Chavez and Nunez when he is healthy. They could also look for another bounce back candidate like Scott Rolen but I do not expect they will get involved for Chase Headley. The other bats are going to need to step up with ARod out especially with the Red Sox series coming up and some tough games in August. One interesting name to consider is Marco Scutaro if the Rockies make him available as he could play both Short Stop and Thirdbase. The Yankees have recalled Ramiro Pena for the time being.

Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect rehab inning yesterday and will rehab again today. The hope is that he can be back at the end of the month and that bullpen really needs it as the shortcomings of three match up guys in a seven man bullpen are really showing lately.

This one is not technically Yankees related but the Tampa Bay Rays DFA former Yankee Hideki Matsui who had only hit .147/.214/.221 with two home runs and one double in 103 PA. This is likely the end for Matsui as he struggled to find a job this season and looks to be done. When he played against the Yankees you could see that his power was gone as the balls off his bat just were not going out. Matsui was my favorite Yankee from when he first came to the team in 2003 and we will still have to wait to see if Matsui decides to walk away now that it seems he cannot play at the MLB level anymore.

What to do with the bench Outfield spot.

The Yankees started this year their only backup Outfielder being Andruw Jones who despite his 6 Home Runs is hitting a dismal .204 in 98 AB. I wrote about Jones in an earlier post, obviously Jones hasn't been the Lefty smasher than Thames was last year and has only hit .240 against Lefties this year. As I said in my earlier post despite his poor numbers Jones is a useful bench bat because he is a right handed with some pop and can play the field well and so he was the only backup outfielder that they needed. Last year the Yankees started with Marucs Thames and Randy Winn but Winn was DFA in May and the Yankees used a combination of several AAA outfielders. This year the Yankees decided to mess up my post about the 5th Outfielder by not having a 5th Outfielder and their primary AAA Outfielder is Chris Dickerson who has the most major league experience. Even with injuries to Justin Maxwell and Colin Curtis the Yankees have good outfield depth but none with any real offensive ability. Jones hasn't really been needed this year because both Gardner and Granderson have been hitting lefties well and despite his early struggles Swisher has been solid. The problem with a guy being a good bench bat is that if he is a good enough bench bat then somebody will give him a starting job and even Andruw Jones could sign with a team that gives him more playing time. Next year the Yankees will likely do without a full time DH and will probably use a rotating DH and one or more Veteran bench bats who can DH and play the field. They could look to retain Jones and Chavez next year or they could try and acquire a new fourth outfielder this year or during the coming off-season. However Jones will likely be the Yankees only real option for this year as I doubt that the Yankees can pick up anybody on waivers and with their lack of action on the trade market I assume that they are okay with Jones. If Jones goes into a prolonged slump the Yankees could always call up Marcus Thames, but more likely they would simply give Montero more time at DH and use either Jones, Golson or Dickerson in the outfield occasionally. If Jones can keep playing decently well the Yankees will probably try and keep him for next year, but like I said he could end up on a team where he would get more playing time.