The NY Yankees will need a replacement for Derek Jeter at shortstop in 2015 and as he finishes up his final home stand with the team, many in the media and MLB have speculated that names like Have Troy Tulowitzki, Hanley Ramirez, Elvis Andrus, Starlin Castro, JJ Hardy and Alex Rodriguez could be options for New York, as they may make a trade or look at the free agent market to bring in a new shortstop.
The Yankees made it through the entire season with Jeter healthy after dealing with the fallout from his ankle injury last year and now for the first time in over a decade, they need a new shortstop. The team also needs a new franchise player after letting Robinson Cano go, but one step at a time. According to USA Today, the Yankees have a number of avenues they can go to replace Jeter and it includes some big names if they decide to go a certain way. The team has Brendan Ryan, who has a flashy glove and no bat, while Alex Rodriguez is suspended and will return next year, but it's very likely they do not want A-Rod taking over for the Golden Boy at shortstop.
Hanley Ramirez has long been considered an option for the Yankees and he is about to hit the free agent market, but after not being able to afford Cano, the team may end up in the same boat with Ramirez if he asks for too much money. Tulo would be a solid option as well, but the team would have to trade for him with the Rockies and that likely would take a major package. Tulowitzki is an injury prone player and he is owed a nice chunk of money on his contract, which extends into 2020.
The Rangers have Jurickson Profar coming in and that means Elvis Andrus could be an option and while he has an eight-year, $120 million contract on him, it could be worth it for the team to replace Jeter with a star-like player. The team also may look at the Cubs, as they have tons of young talent with Addison Russell and Javier Baez and could look at moving Starlin Castro. The Cubs SS came up in talks this summer and with Russell coming over from the A's, he could be expendable.
Hardy is a Gold Glove player with some pop and he could be an option on the free agent market. Tulo is 29 years old and while he has a big deal with $118 million left on his contract, the Yankees could still make that move. The money is not as bad compared to other contracts, but the major issue with him is staying healthy, as he has not played in 150 games since back in 2009.
The Yankees have spent this season honoring Jeter at every turn and while that obviously is well-deserving, some fans have felt the team honored Jeter a bit too much. Jeter is turning it on at the end of the season, but with all the team struggles offensively, Jeter likely should not have been hitting in the two hole so much. The team and Joe Girardi did not want to embarrass Jeter, so they kept him there at potentially the expense of the team. While one could argue that point both ways, he was not a good number two hitter this season, but he is a legend and will be a Hall of Famer.
