9:44pm: Peter Abraham of the Journal News writes that Yankees GM Brian Cashman "has not spoken to any teams regarding trades." It sounds like the Yanks could deal with A-Rod’s vacancy using in-house options. Then again, as noted below, there are still a few infielders left on the free agent market.
9:50am: A few interesting thoughts from ESPN’s Buster Olney this morning:
The Yankees talked internally in the past about how Robinson Cano’s best position, in the long term, might be third base. And it may be that if they determine that A-Rod will be out for a long period of time, they could shift Cano from second to third, and create another set of options for themselves, as they try to replace A-Rod’s offense.
At least in terms of the free agent market, this could make sense. Second basemen Mark Grudzielanek and Ray Durham aren’t known for their range, but signing one for $1MM or less could serve as an insurance policy. If the Yankees seek more pop, they could call the Marlins about Dan Uggla (my own speculation). Uggla is under team control through 2011, though, so acquiring him would create a long-term logjam.
Speaking of insurance, Olney notes that the Yankees do have a policy on A-Rod’s contract.
