Shortstops the Yankees don't need

Derek Jeter is not coming back, so now it's up to Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix to hold down the fort until Jeter does eventually come back. Maybe. That combination leaves a lot to be desired, especially from starting shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who currently sports a .175/.271/.200 batting line in 50 plate appearances so far in the season. A line like that would make it obvious that a change is needed, however, with it still being the first month of the season, no one is looking to trade off their assets just yet. The Yankees' only alternatives would be to stick with what they have or go fishing for other teams' Triple-A stock. Whatever the team decides to do there are three players the Yankees should just not trade for.

Dee Gordon may seem like an enticing player because he has 56 stolen bases in two seasons with the Dodgers, but he also has no power, no plate discipline and no ability to get on base at all. To his name, Gordon has eight professional home runs, dating back to 2008, and only one of those was in the majors. He's 25, so he could improve, but he's not becoming anything close to a home run hitter. His career slugging percentage is .315, which is pretty bad, so the most he could hope for is some more doubles power. Between his 2011 and 2012 seasons he has a 4.8% career walk rate against a 15.8% strikeout rate. A player with the ability to steal bases needs to be able to get on base, but he has a career .299 on base percentage.

Right now in Triple-A he is batting .311/.373/.426 in 15 games, which is far superior to his major league career line of .260/.299/.315, but the question is whether or not he has improved or is this just small sample size talking. He doesn't even rate as a light hitting, slick fielding infielder, as UZR/150 rates him at a -24.8 in the field over 1097.2 innings. In 2009 he stole 73 bases in A-Ball and 53 in Double-A, but it doesn't look like he has the talent to really make that a possibility at the major league level.

Jemile Weeks is a second baseman. was supposed to be the long term shortstops for the Oakland Athletics, but he has since found himself back in Triple-A. He had a very impressive rookie season with a 110 wRC+, but 2012 proved to be a huge step backwards when he could only manage a 73 wRC+. Weeks did provide 38 stolen bases during his time as the A's shortstop, but his inability to get on base has rendered his speed useless. In two major league seasons he has only managed a .260/.321/.360 batting line, which is much lower than what was expected of him.

Weeks' problem has been his inability to translate minor league success into the majors. Through six years in the minors he has an 11.6% walk rate, however, as a major leaguer he has only managed 7.5%. He showed glimpses of an OBP over .400, but it seemed that the more playing time he got, the lower it would drop until he barely managed .300 in 2012. He displayed a wRC+ over 100 in everyone of his minor league seasons and currently has a 118 wRC+ in 15 Triple-A games in 2013, however, he has been more Quadruple-A player than starting shortstop. The 26-year-old hasn't rated highly in the field either, with a -8.8 UZR/150, so a defensive first shortstop is not on his list of talents.

Tyler Pastornicky was never really that good, he was just given a ton of attention because he beat out Andrelton Simmons for the Braves starting shortstop job last season, but ended up being pretty bad. In 76 games he could only manage a 61 wRC+ with a .243/.287/.325 triple slash and he was eventually sent down. His 5.3 walk rate and 17% strike out rate represented the lowest and highest of his career. His severe lack of offensive abilities showed he was overmatched at the major league level.

Pastornicky hasn't been an intriguing prospect for a few years now. His walk rate hasn't been in double digits, at any level, since 2010. After a fluke 2011, where he only struck out 9% of the time, his rates have crept back up into the 12-13 range, like they were before. Right now, in 17 games, he has a .366/.378/.493 batting line, which will obviously settle down with more at bats. Once upon a time Pastornicky stole over 100 bases between rookie ball and Double-A, but since 2011 he only has 14 stolen bases in Triple-A and up. It seems like, at 24-years-old, his best years might already be behind him.

Any of these players have some form of potential or another, Weeks most of all, but their own teams have lost faith in them. Right now Eduardo Nunez has a wRC+ of 34, which makes him the fourth worst shortstop with at least 50 plate appearances. He obviously won't be that bad forever, but he might not be much better. If he's a better option than these guys then that must be saying something.