The other day, the Yankees got bad bullpen news when Alfredo Aceves suffered a setback. Today they get some more, as Nick Johnson felt pain in his wrist while taking batting practice. He is being sent back to New York for further tests; this could mean the end of his season.
Nick Johnson has clearly become an experiment gone bad. Some injuries were expected, but he’s barely contributed at all this season. He’s on a one-year $5.5 million deal with a mutual option that isn’t likely to get picked up after this season.
This increases the Yankees' chances of making a trade for another bat. There was always hope that Johnson would eventually return, lessening the need for a DH, but with this news, the Yankees will probably make a trade or at least call somebody up from the minors.
If someone was called up, the most obvious person would be 1B Juan Miranda , but 1B/3B Jorge Vazquez could be an option, too . It’s not out of the realm that SS Eduardo Nunez could get called up, too.
Miranda makes sense, as he could fill in at DH on days Alex Rodriguez or Jorge Posada need half days off.
Vazquez could fill in at DH and also play some third base as well. The problem with calling him up is that he isn’t on the 40-man roster, but that could easily be adjusted.
After that, the Yankees would likely make a trade. Ty Wigginton is always a possibility and Jayson Werth could happen as well. There are quite a few other names that are possibilities. GM Brian Cashman has said that he would like a veteran who could occasionally spell A-Rod at third.
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