Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Showing Interest in Brendan Rodgers to Fill Second Base Void

The New York Yankees have "had talks" with a defensive whiz free agent to potentially play second base.

Grant Young

Jul 21, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies second base Brendan Rodgers (7) runs off a two run home run in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Jul 21, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies second base Brendan Rodgers (7) runs off a two run home run in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have been linked to several National League second basemen over the past few days.

On January 5, Pat Ragazzo of Yankees on SI reported that New York was showing interest in former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux before he was ultimately traded to the Cincinnati Reds instead.

One day later, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan said, "The Yankees are unquestionably a deeper team -- and they're not done, either. They've continued to discuss Luis Arráez with San Diego."

While that may be the case, there doesn't seem to be a consensus among insiders about the Yankees' perceived interest in Arráez because Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote in a January 6 X post, "Hearing at least for now Luis Arraez is not seen as a fit for Yankees."

Now another NL second baseman has been brought into the Yankees' free agency fray with a January 7 article from USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

"The Yankees – who pounced quickly after Juan Soto turned down their $760 million offer by signing Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract, trading for closer Devin Williams and outfielder Cody Bellinger, and signing first baseman Paul Goldschmidt – now are seeking a left-handed reliever and an infielder," Nightengale wrote.

"They have had talks with free-agent... infielder Brendan Rodgers."

While Rodgers hasn't quite lived up to being the highly-touted No. 3 overall pick of the 2015 MLB Draft, the Gold Glove Award he won in 2022 combined with his steady .267/.314/.407 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI in 135 games played in 2024 shows that he could be a solid option to fill New York's second base vacancy.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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