By Marc Carig
The moment it became clear that Alex Rodriguez would miss six to nine weeks after hip surgery, the rumor mill started kicking out all sorts of names that the Yankees would likely acquire to fill in. Never mind that the Yankees already have a serviceable replacement in Cody Ransom.
The latest banter involves former Oakland A's shortstop Bobby Crosby, who was bumped from his starting job after the recent signing of Orlando Cabrera. Because third baseman Eric Chavez went down with an injury Crosby slid over to play the hot corner, and yet another rumor was born.
I really don't understand the hysteria. As it stands now, A-Rod will miss only the first month of the season, far from the fourth months that could have missed. And while Cody Ransom is, well, Cody Ransom (a 33-year-old, career minor leaguer), I don't see the harm in letting him play. The Yankees have enough bats and strong enough pitching to make it work. In talking to manager Joe Girardi, it doesn't seem that he has a problem with playing Ransom at third for awhile, especially after what he saw from Ransom in a utility role last year.
Of course, you could make the argument that it's not all that bad to be Cody Ransom, whose 6.7 VORP (value over replacement player) last season makes him comparable, if not flat-out better, than some of the names (i.e. Crosby -1.8, and Mark Teahen -1.0) being thrown out there as a more desirable stopgap. In other words, if the Yankees don't find a definitive upgrade over replacement level, then is it worth the bother of giving up prospects for a commodity they already have, which is a perfectly acceptable fill-in? Give up talent for what's essentially the sake of perception?
Ken Rosenthal of Fox seems to think the Yankees will stand pat. Though he doesn't completely rule out the Yankees making move.
I just wanted to know what you think. What would you do?
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