The New York Yankees' goal of reaching the World Series this season could be jeopardized with the news that superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez could likely miss the entire season due to hip surgery.
Brian Cashman said in a radio interview this week with WFAN that there was the possibility that Rodriguez could miss the entire season.
"Best-case scenario, yeah, he should be back," Cashman said. "Worst-case scenario, he won't be back, or there might be something in between."
Later this week, Cashman clarified that while that possibility existed, Rodriguez was actually expected back by the Yankees at some point this season.
"I was asked if it is possible, and I said, 'Yeah, it's possible,' " Cashman said later Friday. "It's a complicated surgery, and anything is possible. It's not the likely outcome. It's not what the doctors expect."
The 14-time baseball All-Star and three-time American League MVP underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left hip Jan. 16 to fix a torn labrum and reshape the femoral head of his thigh bone-a procedure very similar to the surgery on his right hip that sidelined him for two months during his World Series-winning 2009 season.
As the Yankees slugger undergoes physical therapy at Yankees Stadium, the club has already signed former Red Sox hitter Kevin Youkillis to a one-year, $12 million deal to fill in for A-Rod at third base until he returns.
So, what are the New York Yankees' prospects for the playoffs with one of their best players expected to miss much-if not all-of the rest of the season?
Not having Rodriguez at bat will hurt, but not much, as his once-feared home run numbers have declined in recent years. Since 2008, when he last hit 35 home runs, Rodriguez hit 30 home runs in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010. But those numbers declined sharply in the last two seasons, where he hit only 16 home runs in 2011 and 18 home runs last season.
His RBI numbers have also taken a plunge. Having driven in more than 100 RBIs in 13 seasons starting in 1998, his production dropped to 62 during his injury-prone 2011 season and only 57 last season.
His playoff numbers, as has been the pattern with him, were also not good last postseason, Rodriguez going 3-for-25 with 12 strikeouts and a .120 batting average.
The Yankees still have the backbone of their starting lineup to produce, with Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano still looking strong heading into the 2013 season. And while Derek Jeter isn't quite what he used to be, his batting average for 2012 was a resurgent .316-the best he's hit since he hit .334 in 2009.
The possibility also exists that the Yankees could pull the trigger on a free agent signing prior to the season starting to get production.
Former Yankee Johnny Damon and slugger Carlos Lee are among a few of the unsigned free agents that they could bring in to fill in the gap on offense. And they still have a farm system with prospects such as star right fielder Tyler Austin, who batted .322 with 17 home runs and 80 RBIS over 110 minor-league games in 2012.
All in all, the Yankees have options. But Rodriguez's absence, among the list of players they let go such as Raul Ibanez and Nick Swisher, is yet another hole that the defending American League East champions have to fill as they aim to get back to World Series glory.
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