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Eric Duncan was once the jewel of the Yankees' farm system, but he seemed to max out at AAA and was left unprotected after the 2007 season.  Yet, Duncan has continued to toil at AAA in Scranton, playing first, third and even some outfield.  What's important to remember about Duncan is he is still only 24 and he has started this season .364/.440/.500.

When you look at the Yankees' offense so far this season you have Cano, Swisher, Jeter and Posada doing the bulk of the production right now with Teixeira starting to emerge, Garnder not walking enough, Matsui struggling and Ransom killing the team.  Also, it sounds like Xavier Nady is going to miss the season with an elbow injury and Matsui's knee is balking again.   

I will get to the outfield problem in a minute, but for now I want to go back to Ransom.  Ransom is 4-for-33 with 11 strikeouts.  There is a reason that Ransom is 33 and has only had about 250 AB's in the majors and the Yankees are seeing that right now.  The Yankees don't need to panic and make a trade, but they need to get more production from third than they are currently receiving.  Ramiro Pena is a nice prospect, but with zero AB's above AA before this season (and limited success in those AB's) it is unrealistic to think he can hit much at the major league level.  Plus, I think long term the Yankees would be better off putting Pena in the starting lineup at AAA everyday and seeing what his bat does.  So, why not give Duncan a crack?  Miranda can only play first, which is really not a position the Yankees need help with.  As I mentioned previously, Duncan can play multiple positions and would give the Yankees some nice depth.  Who knows, he may even hit a little bit. 

Now, on to the outfield.  I am officially worried about the current situation.  Nady is probably lost for the year, Matsui's knee is a problem just from being on base.  So, a position that was a strength going into the season is now a weakness, only eleven games in.  

I hope the Yankees recognize this and try and fortify the outfield.  There are not a lot of great options in the minors.  Austin Jackson needs to play every day and Shelly Duncan has not shown the ability to thrive on the bench.  How about taking a flier on Jim Edmonds, currently unsigned?   Edmonds managed 20 homers last season and got on base 34% of the time.  Yes, he is old, but he probably can still hit and it wouldn't cost much to find out either way.  If Garnder continues to struggle you could put him in at center. The point is, something needs to be done if Nady is truly lost for the year.  Chances are Matsui will be down for stretches of the season and you cannot bank on Damon playing 150 games.  Plan B right now is Melky and we know what that means.