A Look Ahead: Infielders

Part 2 of "A Look Ahead." Today we look at infielders:

The possible need(s): Utility Man

The options: Eric Hinske, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Mark DeRosa, Felipe Lopez, Bobby Crosby, Marco Scutaro, John McDonald.

As proven by recent teams that reached the World Series (Boston in '07, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in '08), a good bench is a key to success. The Yankees have already improved their bench dramatically this year with the acquisition of Eric Hinske and could make it even better this offseason.

They could retain the services of Hinske and Ransom (they don't have to worry about Pena) and then have the three of them duke it out in Spring Training with probably two of them making it to the big league club.

Another option would be to sign a free agent. The best looking name out there is that of Mark DeRosa. DeRosa is the definition of a utility man. He can play all four infield spots as well as the outfield. You combine that with a .300 BA and 20 HRs, you have yourself the best benchwarmer in the league. However, there are a couple of things going against DeRosa landing in the Bronx. In the past, he has expressed an interest in starting, something he was able to do in Cleveland. However, he would not be able to start in the Bronx (unless an outfield spot opened up. More about that later). A lot of other teams will be interested as well so the Yankees would have to out bid about 15 other teams, which they've managed to do plenty of times in the past.

They could also go after one of the other names out there. Lopez and Scutaro are certainly very attractive options. Or they could look at Bobby Crosby (remember his name was floated out there in trade rumors when A-Rod went down). Bottom line, Yanks have plenty of nice options when it comes to a utility man (or too).