Yankees Trade Rumors: Victorino, Quentin, Span, Venable, Crisp

Search for Outfield Help Reveals a Host of Unlikely Options

With word of Brett Gardner’s third setback, Ken Davidoff of The New York Post offers several outfielders the New York Yankees could possibly target this summer, including Carlos Quentin, Will Venable, Mark Kotsay, Coco Crisp, Shane Victorino, Denard Span, Vernon Wells, Chris Young, Bryan LaHair, Alfonso Soriano, and Michael Cuddyer.

Gardner won't rejoin the Yankees in the near future, and with his most recent setback there’s a chance that he could be done for the season.

New York has been using Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones to fill in for Gardner, but the Yankees are worried about wearing the veteran duo out down the stretch leading Davidoff to conclude that the Yankees could target an outfielder this summer.

While he lists the players mentioned above, he admits not all are realistic fits, mostly due to the money they are owed. He does, however, provide the three most likely options: acquiring Victorino, standing pat and sticking with Ibanez and Jones, or acquiring Venable.

Davidoff figures the Phillies' asking price for Victorino will drop between now and July 31, and he notes that Venable is intriguing because he could contribute next year as well, perhaps bridging the gap between Nick Swisher’s "likely departure and the hoped arrival of outfield prospects Tyler Austin and Mason Williams."