Yankees Don't Need Glaus or Ransom

WFAN's Sweeny Murti reported early today that Troy Glaus, retired since 2010, had gotten in contact with the Yankees about a possible comeback.

The 36-year old played 128 games for the Atlanta Braves two years and earned $1.75MM. He produced 16 HR and 71 RBI along with a .744 OPS as a first baseman. Glaus missed nearly the entire 2009 season due to back and shoulder problems.

Murti also reported that Cody Ransom was interested in a job. Most Yankees fans will remember that Ransom looked like his game was held for ransom when he subbed for Alex Rodriguez during his last hip surgery in 2009.

Ransom put up a .190/.244/.333 split in 31 games for the Bombers, one year after a 1.051 OPS in 33 games gave the Yankees hope that he could ably fill in for A-Rod. To make matters worse, Ransom also struggled in the field.

Even if Kevin Youkilis had not been acquired, neither player would be a good fit for a host of reasons.

Ransom will just have to hold on to his high jumping memories.

A-Rod to Have Surgery in Mid-January

Alex Rodriguez's hip surgery is set for January - the assumption is to build up some muscle prior to surgery - and is committed to coming back strong.

'I am fully committed to a very hard road back,'' Rodriguez said. ''We've done it before in '09 and it was a great result, both on a personal level and on a team level, more importantly. I take it as a great challenge and I'm excited for the challenge.''  

''Don't count us out,'' Rodriguez said. ''We are the New York Yankees.'' 

Onward and upward.

A-Rod Comes Through Surgery Nicely

Per Peter Abraham, Alex Rodriguez's surgeon, Dr. Mark Phillipon, held a brief teleconference with the media. He was quite happy with how A-Rod came through the surgery and confirmed they made the right decision.

As part of his recovery, A-Rod will actually have to ride an exercise bike today. He'll begin range of motion exercises on the weekend.

Breaking News: A-Rod to have Surgery

It is now official, Alex Rodriguez will have surgery on his ailing hip tomorrow and is expected to miss 6-9 weeks. He'll need additional surgery once the season is over.

Tomorrow's surgery will be arthroscopic and will repair the torn labrum.

(Dr. Mark) Philippon is confident in the “85-90 pecent range” that Rodriguez will be able to play through the entire regular season.

“I firmly believe this approach will be successful and allow Alex to return,” Philippon said. “We’ve had very good success with this approach. Short term, we feel the risk is very limited that he will re-tear his labrum during that six-, seven-month period.”

“Because of all the test findings, analysis, the function of Alex, I feel it’s in his best interest to have his labrum repaired, remove part of his impingement and therefore stabilize his labrum,” he said. “The goal here is to allow Alex to rehab rapidly in a safe manner.”

Learn more about hip arthroscopy.

Breaking News: A-Rod out 10 Weeks with Hip Surgery

ESPNdeportes is reporting, courtesy of A-Rod's brother, that the third baseman will be out 6-10 weeks to undergo hip surgery. The Yankees have not acknowledged the information, but A-Rod reportedly will have the surgery done in Colorado on Monday, by top hip guy, Dr. Michael Philippon.

It's a blow to the Yankees hopes of getting off to a good start, but thankfully, much of the time missed will be during spring training. It makes the signings of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett even more significant to keep games lower scoring.

This means that Cody Ransom will most likely be the starting third baseman, with Angel Berroa serving as the utility infielder. It also means there is no way that Brian Cashman can trade Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher. It also means there is no way the Yankees should move Mark Teixeira back to his old third base position.

It also means Yankees fans should not start saying they should have signed Manny Ramirez, or that they should go out and get a player to replace A-Rod.