Written by Greg Fertel | 26 July 2009

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Bad news today, Brett Gardner has hit the DL with a broken left thumb. I haven't heard how long he'll be out, but he was putting together a very nice season for himself and deserved a majority of the playing time in center field. With him out, we'll see Melky manning center on a full-time basis. We've seen how that has worked out in the past: not well. Hopefully Gardner will be back soon, but until then, who should take his spot? Today, Albaladejo was called up, but I assume that's temporary; the Yankees don't need a 13 man pitching staff. Let's run down the possible options.

On the 40-man:

Ramiro Pena - CF/2B/3B/SS

Pena has been playing some center field down in AAA, and I assume he is doing well out there. When you hear about a player being moved off of shortstop, center field is usually one of the possibilities because it's an easier position to man than shortstop. If you take a gold glove-caliber shortstop and put him in center field, I think it's safe to assume that he'll be good out there. Pena can't hit, but he'd be the backup center fielder, late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner. In that sense, he could fill in some of the roles Gardner had occupied. Since returning to Scranton, he's hit what is basically expected of him: .260/.333/.356 with 1 HR for a wOBA of .325.

Juan Miranda - 1B/DH

No chance, having Hinske and Miranda on the roster simultaneously would just be redundant.

While Pena is the only option I see on the 40-man roster, the Yankees do have an open spot on the roster. They would just have to move Xavier Nady from the 15-day DL to the 60-day. If they were to choose that route, here are their options.

Shelley Duncan - 1B/LF/RF

Tearing up the International League with 25 HRs, a .369 OBP and a .574 SLG for a wOBA of .402. If the Yankees want some extra right handed pop off the bench, this is the guy they should go to.

Austin Jackson - CF

You all know my thoughts on Jackson, I don't think he's ready for the big leagues yet and I am pretty sure the Yankees agree. The only way he gets called up is if the Yankees plan on starting him every day and think he'll be more productive than Melky. A-Jack definitely needs to be getting regular at bats and I don't think they should be coming at the major league level yet.

John Rodriguez - LF/RF

I'm surprised Rodriguez has never gotten more of a chance. He has a career OPS+ of 110 at the big league level in nearly 400 plate appearances. Nothing he does jumps out at you, but he is solid across the board. He is average with the bat and appears to be about an average fielder according to UZR and TotalZone. He's now 30 years old and deserves a shot based on his .381 wOBA, but I don't think he'll get it.

 

My vote goes to Ramiro Pena; his versatility is a good asset and I don't think he'll magically start to hit by staying in AAA. Pena isn't the type of prospect that needs to be playing every day and the Yankees have shown they agree with that by using him at the start of the season over Angel Berroa. Call up Pena, use him when he's needed, and then DFA Cody Ransom when Gardner returns.

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