With Robinson Cano leaving for the Seattle Mariners and their target to replace him Omar Infante signing with the Royals the Yankees have turned to smaller options. One of the options is Cubs 2B Darwin Barney. Barney is coming off his worst offensive seasons as he hit .208 with a .569 OPS. Both are dismal numbers but were helped by a .222 BABIP. Barney is expected to earn somewhere between 2-4 million this year as he is eligible for salary arbitration..
What Barney is known for however, is his defense. He won the Rolaids Gold Glove in 2012 and should've won it this season but Brandon Phillips stole it from him. Barney made only 4 errors in 141 games at second base this tear. A great number but was double the amount of errors than his 2012 season where he tied an MLB record with most consecutive error less games. His defensive numbers were down in 2013 with a 4.36 range factor which was down from his 5.16 range factor last season.
I doubt the return for Barney will be much, but people have been saying the Cubs are interested in Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner who is reportedly available. Gardner, 30 is entering his last year of arbitration and is made 2.85 million in 2013. He had his best offensive season since 2011 hitting .273 with 24 steals and 10 triples. The Yankees want to trade Gardner because of their projected outfield of Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro, and Vernon Wells. All of them are owed big contracts and may be hard to move.
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