YankeesRedSox.com

The Yankees just announced that A-Rod will undergo an operation that will keep him out 6-9 weeks.  A-Rod will need two operations, but the first one will be now with the second after the season.

I think this is the right call and I actually know someone who had this very surgery performed by the same doctor.  His injury essentially came from working out too much, something that A-Rod could be accused of as well.  His problem was running caused extreme pain and the surgery fixed that.  

Now, if we look at the calendat the Yankees shoudl expect to be without A-Rod until May 11th if it takes nine weeks for him to heal.  That would mean he misses 33 games, not optimal but certainly better than expected.  The problem is A-Rod will still not be 100% when he comes back and the Yankees can't afford to be caught short.

For a team with a well-stocked farm system, this wouldn't be a huge problem.  You could bring up a young hitter to take A-Rod's place.  The Yankees don't have that, they have Cody Ransom who is in his 30's and has less than 200 AB"s in the majors.  Ransom is probably going to make Wilson Betemit look like an All-Star if he plays 33 games at third.

So, the Yankees need to think about a trade or a signing.  Nomar is officially an Athletic, so that's not a possibility.  The remaining free agent options are not too appealing.  One thing the Yankees have a lot of is young pitchers who could help a major league bullpen.  Time to convert some of that into position talent, a move that is long overdue.  I will never understand how Brian Cashman can spend $200 million on a team, but neglect the bench, but that seems to be his preferred operating model.  With Posada questionable and A-Rod out, he has to change that.