The New York Yankees outfield has gotten a bit crowded during a busy offseason for the Bronx Bombers and as a result it could lead to a trade that would send Brett Gardner out of town as reports indicate the Yankees are open to trading the outfielder.
ESPN reports that since the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran out of free agency, the team is set to get involved in trade discussions with other teams about Gardner at this week's Winter Meetings and beyond.
With second baseman Robinson Cano leaving town and Alex Rodriguez's 2014 season surrounded in mystery due to the appeals process regarding his 211-game Biogenesis suspension, the Yankees could either keep Gardner or use him as a main piece to address their needs at second base, third base or even in the rotation or bullpen.
If Gardner stays with the Yankees through the 2014 season, which is conceivable since the team values the speedy outfielder, he would start in left field for them while Ellsbury will be in center and Beltran will play right and alternate with Alfonso Soriano as the designated hitter.
As it stands right now, New York also has Vernon Wells and Ichiro Suzuki, and they'll either keep them as reserves or ship them to another team as well.
According to ESPN a source that was asked if the Yankees would deal Gardner once the Ellsbury deal was done said "absolutely not," but the team may be changing its stance now that it has landed Beltran as well and the Newark Star-Ledger reported that the Yankees are more open to listening to potential deals on Gardner now that Beltran is in the fold.
ESPN reports that a source indicated the Yankees have had a lot of interest from outside clubs about Gardner and are more open to trading him due to the outfield depth they now boast in the Bronx. The source also said the Yankees aren't looking into signing any high-end starting pitchers out of free agency, a list that includes Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez.
With that in mind, the Yankees could be hoping to ship Gardner out in exchange for a starter especially since Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka may not be posted because the new system that the MLB and Japanese League have agreed to limits the fee for the players' team to $20 million which a source said "wouldn't be worth it' for Tanaka's current team the Tohuku Rakuten Tigers, according to ESPN.
With the Yankees in need of an infielder, the team has been in talks with Omar Infante, so the team may not need to trade for one.
Gardner, 30, hit .273 with eight homers and 52 RBIs through 145 games. He is set to become a free agent in 2014.
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