The NY Yankees season did not start out as planned after a loss to the Houston Astros and as the year gets underway, the team may look to trade for players like Nick Franklin or Didi Gregorius as insurance if Derek Jeter or Brian Roberts get hurt during the 2014 season, as both have missed significant time and could end up on the DL at some point.
The Yankees are willing to go into the season without much behind Jeter and Roberts, as Brendan Ryan was supposed to be the insurance for the shortstop position, but he has a back injury and his timetable for returning is now up in the air. Jeter comes into the season after playing in just 17 games last year and he is one of the oldest players on the team and is also coming off of serious ankle surgery. Jeter will likely not be able to play in over 150 games, while Roberts comes into the season after not being able to stay healthy in any of the previous four years.
Brian Cashman said that the Yankees would evaluate their options after Ryan went down and he also said that the team is confident that Roberts can remain healthy through the season. The Yankees brought in Roberts to take over for Robinson Cano after he signed with the Mariners and there is a chance the team could look to Seattle to help find another replacement, as young prospect Nick Franklin was sent down to the minors after Brad Miller won the starting shortstop job in the spring.
Franklin was brought up and played second base last season and was solid until the back end of the year and while he was expecting to be on the big league club this year, the Mariners signed Robinson Cano and that obviously meant a move. Miller and Franklin battled for the shortstop position this spring and Miller was simply better, hitting over .400 with four home runs and he is known as a better defensive player anyway. Franklin is a true shortstop and a converted second baseman, so he could be a valuable addition for the Yankees or another team like the Mets if they want to make a trade for him.
Franklin was sent down to the minors and while the Mariners want to keep him, they could look at making a deal if the right move comes along. David Phelps was mentioned during the spring as a potential option for the Mariners after Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker started the season on the DL, but right now they are content going with young arms, including Erasmo Ramirez and James Paxton in the rotation.
Franklin and Gregorius both are in the minors now and SI.com reports that Gregorius could be an option for teams after Chris Owings got the starting job. The Yankees and the Mets could be in the market for Franklin and is he starts tearing things up in Triple A in the minors, that noise could start getting much louder. The Yankees have a ton of baseball to play and they are hoping that Jeter can make it through the season without any issues.
