Wednesday Morning Food For Thought

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Jacoby Ellsbury is a passed physical away from becoming the starting center fielder for the Yankees.  The team has stated they have no intention of trading Brett Gardner and the assumption if they don't is that he'll shift back to left field in 2014.  With Ichiro Suzuki in right, that would give the Yankees arguably the best defensive starting outfield in baseball.

But what if they don't keep Ichiro in right?  What if the addition of Ellsbury signals that Ichiro is now expendable and possibly tradeable?  The Yankees have 2 left-handed speed OFers now in Ellsbury and Gardner, they have 2 righties in Soriano and Wells, and they have switch-hitting Zoilo around for further bench depth.  If there's any kind of market out there for Ichiro, which is not to say there is or should be based on his last 2 years of production, the Yankees could try to move him and at least some of his salary and go with Soriano as the right fielder/part time DH.

There are still moves that can be made before that to help manage 40-man roster issues as the Yankees continue to add pieces, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Ichiro get shopped around, if for no other reason than to see if there's any interest out there.