Yankees Trade Rumors: 5 Players NY Could Trade for After Alex Rodriguez Injury

The New York Yankees had seen Michael Pineda, Brett Gardner, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte go down with injuries this season.

So what the heck? It was probably just a matter of time before Alex Rodriguez got hurt too. 

That happened on Tuesday night in Seattle. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez hit A-Rod in the left hand with a pitch, breaking the fifth metacarpal. He's been put on the disabled list, and he could be out as long as eight weeks.

Hardly ideal, but things could be worse. A-Rod is making the big bucks, but he hasn't been a major part of the Yankees offense this season. He's working on a career-low .449 slugging percentage and a career-low .806 OPS.

All the same, A-Rod can still be characterized as an above-average hitter and a solid enough third baseman. His absence will be felt.

Unless, of course, the Yankees can do something to account for it. To that end, there are six days left until MLB's trade deadline. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Yankees GM Brian Cashman does plan on monitoring the trade market for a third baseman.

Here's a short list of five players the Yankees could go after to make up for A-Rod's injury.

Note: All stats come from Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

5. Juan Uribe, Los Angeles Dodgers

Full disclosure: I'm actually head-desking right now. It's making the task of writing hard, but I just can't help myself.

But alas, I'm afraid we must discuss Juan Uribe, he of the .190 batting average and .543 OPS.

Uribe inked a three-year deal worth $21 million to join the Dodgers before the start of the 2011 season, but he has since fallen out of favor in Los Angeles. Starts have been hard to come by for him even with Dee Gordon out of the picture with an injury, and they're about to be a lot harder to come by now that Hanley Ramirez is a member of the Dodgers.

Uribe is basically a man without a role at this point. If Ned Colletti can find a way to get rid of him, he will.

Cashman told the Post that he's not looking to make a major move even with A-Rod out of the picture for the foreseeable future. Acquiring Uribe wouldn't be a major move. If the Yankees agree to pick up some of the money left on his contract, the Dodgers will probably give him up for nothing.

Uribe wouldn't hit much for the Yankees, but his presence would allow Joe Girardi to use a left/right platoon at third base between Uribe and Eric Chavez.

And for what it's worth, Uribe isn't a bad fielder. Per FanGraphs, he has a 4.8 UZR at third base this season. That's much better than average.

4. Jamey Carroll, Minnesota Twins

Everyone is looking for the Twins to sell all their dealable assets at the deadline, specifically players like Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano, Denard Span and even Josh Willingham.

But how about Jamey Carroll? He has value simply because of his versatility, and he's a good guy to have on offense because of his ability to play small ball and to steal an occasional base.

It actually may not be very easy to convince the Twins to give up Carroll, as they've used him pretty heavily at second base, shortstop and third base this season. The Yankees would have to give the Twins something of value for Carroll, and even then they'll probably have to pick up the rest of his contract.

But since his contract only has $3.75 million remaining on it after this season, that's something the Yankees can afford to do.

Similar to Uribe, Carroll would come in handy because his right-handed bat would work well in a platoon with Chavez. Carroll is by no means a Gold Glover at third, but he can hold his own.

What makes Carroll more desirable than Uribe is his ability to play in both the infield and the outfield if need be. He's also considerably more affordable, which is ever so important to the Yankees these days.

3. Ty Wigginton, Philadelphia Phillies

Let's say the Yankees want somebody with a little more pop than Carroll and a contract that expires at the end of the season.

Why, then they should consider Ty Wigginton, of course.

Apparently, they have. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported via Twitter that Brian Cashman has considered swinging a deal for Wiggington.

However, the Phillies would rather not give him up. Because, you know, a guy with a .684 OPS and a team-high 10 errors is just too hard to give up.

It's either that, or the Phillies are worried about Placido Polanco's back. That's Heyman's explanation, anyway.

Or this could just be a play to light a small fire under Cashman's posterior. This could be Ruben Amaro, Jr. doing his level best to actually try to get something of value for Wigginton.

I wish him luck with that. If the Yankees offer him anything while also agreeing to take on what's left of Wigginton's contract, Amaro should cough him up.

It's not like the Phillies really need Wigginton, anyway. Playing time has been hard to come by for him ever since Chase Utley and Ryan Howard returned to action, and Wigginton hasn't done much good this season when he has played.

If Polanco's back is better than the Phillies apparently fear, Wigginton can go.

2. Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers

Now we're getting into the high-rent district. If Cashman feels compelled to use A-Rod's injury as an excuse to go after a big-name third baseman, he should consider two options.

The first would be Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez. The Brewers locked him up to a three-year contract this past offseason, but they have no reason to keep him around seeing as how the writing is on the wall that it's time to rebuild.

Still, Ramirez is a longshot. Heyman noted as much on Twitter.

The money is problematic, as Ramirez is owed $10 million in 2013 and $16 million in 2014. The Yankees would probably try to talk the Brewers into eating some of that, and that would require the Yankees to hand over a more impressive package of prospects.

The Yankees aren't going to do that for a player they don't need.

...Unless, of course, they decide that they need Ramirez as much in the long-term as they do in the short-term.

One idea I proposed last week was for the Yankees to make A-Rod a full-time DH next season, a move that could keep him healthy while maximizing his value as a hitter. If they do that, they'll need a new third baseman.

Ramirez would be a heck of an option to that end. He's not young or cheap, but he's shown this year that he can still hit. In fact, he's been as consistent as anyone for a decade at this point.

So Ramirez is one long-term option. There's a better one out there, though.

1. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres

Chase Headley already was the top third baseman on the trade market even before Hanley Ramirez was dealt to the Dodgers. Now that Ramirez is off the market, the market for Headley is even hotter than it was before.

ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Wednesday that the Yankees are going to consider a deal for Headley. Heyman tweeted that the Yankees are unlikely to actually execute a trade for Headley, but Cashman is not one to be underestimated.

Neither is Headley, for that matter. According to FanGraphs, the only two third basemen in baseball with higher WARs than Headley are David Wright and Miguel Cabrera. Headley's a very good fielder, and a .279/.378/.488 hitter away from Petco Park.

The best part is that Headley still has room to grow. He's only 28, and he's just now coming into his prime. He still has a couple years of arbitration eligibility left after this season.

Like Ramirez, Headley could be installed as an everyday third baseman in 2013 and beyond, with A-Rod taking up full-time DH duties. The difference is that Headley is a young star who's getting better, as opposed to an old star who can only get worse.

How about it, Cashman?

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.