Yankees interested in trade for Jimmy Rollins; not high on Hanley Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera or Jed Lowrie

The Yankees will surely be looking far and wide as they search for the shortstop to replace Derek Jeter. One way they could fill the role is by making some kind of trade and they've already been connected to Elvis Andrus of the Rangers. Brian Cashman has now gone on record to say that they're looking at Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies as well.

Rollins, 35, is in the last year of his contract after his vesting option kicked in for the 2015 season at $11 million. Despite his age and Philadelphia's troubles, Rollins still offers value on both sides of the ball. He just put up a 3.6 WAR season while offering league-average offense and solid defense; something the Yankees could absolutely use, if even for just one season.

It has also come out that, while they are looking at Rollins for a trade, they are also wary of free agents Hanley Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jed Lowrie, who would cost only money. Hanley offers the most with the bat, but also might not be a shortstop for very long and has tons of injury concerns attached to him. Cabrera and Lowrie are both younger than Rollins, but would require multi-year commitments for slightly lesser offensive production and much worse defense. It seems that if the Yankees are going to add a new shortstop, it's going to be someone who can field his position, which is why they seem interested in Andrus and Rollins in the first place.

What it all looks to be coming down to in the early goings of the offseason is Stephen Drew or a trade. By choosing Drew or Rollins they can get the kind of talent they want without having to worry about five years down the line. The Yankees are playing it safe and that's not a bad thing in this instance. They finally have a chance to add a shortstop with superior defensive skills and in a market where offensive production is down and defensive value is up, it looks like they're not going to miss this opportunity.