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For every team, spring training marks the start of a new beginning, as a fresh slate is presented to them. For the teams that struggled in 2013, they look to put last season behind them.  For a team such as the Boston Red Sox, who won the World Series, they look to build on their foundation of success.  

Then there are the teams who had an average season at best, such as the New York Yankees.  Fortunate to have reeled in an abundance of talent in the offseason, New York enters spring training with the hope of making it back to the playoffs in 2014.  However, with the team it will bring to the Bronx in April, it can do much more than that.  

Here are five bold predictions for the Yankees in 2014 and why there is a legitimate argument that they will happen.  

Derek Jeter will win Comeback Player of the Year in 2014.    

The beloved captain will turn 40 in June, but age has never been a factor for Jeter up until he injured his leg and was sidelined for all but 17 games in 2013.  

In 2012, his last full season, Jeter led the league with 216 hits, defying the logic of old age as an effect on a player’s performance.  Fully poised to come back healthy, Jeter ended his offseason early to prepare for the season in Tampa, the site of the Yankees’ spring training facility.  

For almost any other player, this prediction would seem way too far-fetched.  However, Jeter has been a warrior on the field his entire career, facing adversity and overcoming difficult obstacles.  

Add the fact that this is his last season of ever playing professional baseball, and one can see why Jeter is expected to perform as he always has.  

According to a report from Chad Jennings of USA Today, Jeter responded to questions of how he felt after his first official spring training workout Thursday by saying, “I’m always going to tell you I’m fine. This year, I mean it.”

Over his 19-year career with the Yankees, Jeter owns a 162-game average of 206 hits per year.  As long as he remains healthy, it is still predictable that he will total somewhere around 170-180 hits, considering he will likely be given a few more rest days than he had been given at a younger age.  

In his final season, Jeter will likely lead his team like he always has, with the mentality of only having a successful season if his team wins the World Series.    

Michael Pineda will win over 10 games for the Yankees in 2014.  

After being traded from the Seattle Mariners to New York in 2012, Michael Pineda was set to build on an outstanding rookie year in which he struck out 173 batters in 171.1 innings pitched.  

Since that trade, he has yet to throw a pitch for the Yankees, undergoing shoulder surgery and struggling to recover from it.  

However, Pineda arrived to camp on time, and he is healthy and ready to vie for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, as reported by John Harper of The New York Daily News. 

Still only 25 years old, Pineda has plenty of time to get healthy and have a successful career.  After missing two consecutive seasons to recover from injury, 2014 will be his year.  

Look for Pineda to beat out his competition in Adam Warren and David Phelps for the starting job. Pineda will be on the mound every fifth day, barring injury, and he’ll win over 10 games for his team in 2014.  

David Robertson will accumulate over 35 saves in his first full season as a closer.  

When the great Mariano Rivera retired after last season, there were debates on whether the Yankees should pursue a closer such as Fernando Rodney or promote their stellar setup man, David Robertson.  

The Yankees chose the latter, and Robertson is at camp and preparing for the challenge of filling some huge shoes.  

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, when asked about filling the void Rivera left when he retired, the righty answered, “Just like Michael Jordan. Just like Derek (Jeter). Nobody replaces those guys, but somebody is going to have to take over their jobs.”

Robertson deserves respect for being realistic about the situation, but don’t let that overshadow his own dominance on the mound.  

In 339 career games, Robertson owns an ERA of 2.76, including a 2013 season in which he won five games out of the bullpen and pitched to a 2.04 ERA.  In 2011, Robertson blossomed, striking out an incredible 100 batters in only 66.2 innings.  

There is no question that Robertson has filthy stuff.  The unknown question is whether he will transition into the closing role.  

Based on his brilliance as the setup man, there should be no doubt that he can perform as the closer this season.  Furthermore, with the amount of offensive production expected from this revamped Yankees lineup, Robertson will be given plenty of opportunities to close out games in the ninth.  

A season with 35 or more saves seems just about right for Robertson as he transitions to his new role for New York.  

The New York Yankees will send Jeter out on a high note.  

This next prediction may come as a surprise this early on until all factors are considered.

Barring another season plagued by injuries to almost every key player on the field, the Yankees will be locked and loaded heading into the new season.  That is why they have a legitimate shot at winning an unprecedented 28th World Series title in 2014.  

Led by Jeter, the Yankees will put out a lineup that features new acquisitions such as catcher Brian McCann and outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran.  Those three combined for 427 hits and 194 runs batted in last season with their respective clubs.  

Now add Alfonso Soriano, who blasted 34 home runs and drove in 101 runs last season, and the Yankees have one of the best outfields in all of baseball.  

The infield will need solid production from platoon players at third base such as Kelly Johnson and Eduardo Nunez, since the Yankees learned Alex Rodriguez would be suspended for the entire season.  

Jeter will man shortstop, and as I stated, if he remains healthy, there is no reason to believe he cannot perform the way he has his entire career.  The same goes for first base, which Mark Teixeira will patrol as long as he too is healthy.  Similar to Jeter, the slugger was sidelined for almost all of 2013.  In 2011, his last full season, he belted 39 home runs while driving in 111 runs.  

The biggest question mark for the Yankees deep into the offseason was the rotation.  Then on Jan. 22, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Yankees signed Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka. With the signing, the Yankees bolstered their pitching staff, which consists of C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova.  

Erik Boland of Newsday reported that Tanaka impressed a lot of his teammates in his first bullpen session this week.  When he asked catcher Austin Romine about Tanaka’s pitches, he said “I had to turn around and ask what the pitch was. I’ve never seen the ball move like that before.”

Tanaka should adjust just fine to the style of Major League Baseball, and his presence in the rotation makes New York a serious threat to any team in the league. 

Considering all those factors and Jeter’s determination to win, it wouldn’t come as a great surprise if the Yankees make it back to the top this season.  

Of course, baseball is a game of unknowns, which is what makes it so beautiful.  However, these predictions are based on statistical and factual analysis.  So, while they are bold, these predictions have more than a good chance of happening.    

Nevertheless, it will be a great season to watch as Jeter plays for his last time and new faces look to bring a championship back to the Bronx.  

Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

At this time last season, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter attempted to stay positive regarding his health when he began his spring training workouts. Unfortunately, his optimistic nature was not enough to carry him into the regular season remotely healthy.

Jeter only managed to play 17 games in 2013, compiling some of the worst statistics of his storied 19-year career with the Yankees. With just 63 at-bats, the shortstop managed only 12 hits for a batting average of .190—his lowest since his rookie season in 1995.

This year, it’s different for Jeter.

There has been plenty of talk about his impending retirement—he will be turning 40 in June. However, it’s been all business for the longtime Yankee. During a press conference on Wednesday, Jeter was asked about retiring:

I’m not gone yet, so it’s kind of hard to answer that question. You try to play hard, you try to have respect for your team, your teammates, your opponents, fans, reporters—everyone that you come in contact with in your job. You want to be remembered as someone that played hard.

After one more healthy season, that’s exactly how Jeter will be remembered.

But for me, I’ve always said it time and time again, the most sacred thing, the thing that means the most to me is to be remembered as a Yankee. That’s what I’ve always wanted to be is to be a Yankee. And I have to thank the Steinbrenner family that’s here today, and our late owner, The Boss, because they gave me the opportunity to pretty much live my dream my entire life, and the great thing about being a Yankee is you’re always a Yankee, so in that sense it never ends. So being a Yankee is good enough for me.

The importance of playing for this franchise is overwhelming for Jeter. He loves the Yankees and his role as a leader of the club. Rest assured, Jeter will do everything possible to remain healthy and go out on a high note.

So far, he is off to a great start.

Jeter spoke with reporters on Thursday about his health heading into spring training:

It felt like every first (day of) spring training—with the exception of last season. 

I’m always going to tell you I’m fine. This year, I mean it. 

There’s no comparison (to last year) whatsoever because I’ve had four months to basically only strengthen my legs. I can’t compare last year and this year. 

I wanted to be a little lighter, take some pressure off my legs and move around a little bit better.

Spoken like a true veteran.

Jeter’s intelligence shined again during this interview. He took all of the necessary precautions over the offseason to get himself back to form.

Over his long layoff from baseball, Jeter’s surgically repaired ankle had plenty of time to heal. Jeter didn’t stop there. As he stated in his interview, he spent months strengthening the muscles around his ankle. This persistence gives him great odds of getting through the year without re-injuring himself.

Sure, there has only been one workout to base Jeter’s health from. However, there is a clear difference between what we saw last year and what we are seeing now.

It’s still uncertain as to how much Jeter will be able to contribute to the Yankees this season. However, even if he is on a pitch count, his health will allow him to flourish no matter how often he sees the field.

Forget about Jeter’s retirement—after all, he’s not focusing on it. It’s all business for the veteran heading into his 20th season with New York. Expect one last year of memorable performances from Jeter before he finally hangs up his cleats.

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When the New York Yankees drafted Derek Jeter in 1992, the 18-year-old shortstop entered an organization with a cloudy future. Over two decades later—through no fault of his own—he’ll exit New York with the Yankees staring down an uncomfortably similar fate.

During Jeter’s reign in the Bronx, the Yankees dominated the sport. Led by a resurgent farm system, the core of a dynasty was erected in the mid-’90s.

Despite experiencing October failure throughout most of the 2000s, no franchise has been more successful since the day Derek Jeter became the shortstop in New York.

Despite the cloudy future that hovered over the Yankees when Jeter was drafted, the outlook changed quickly and swiftly thanks to factors such as Gene Michael reviving the farm system, Buck Showalter nurturing young, ascending talents like Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, Joe Torre arriving as manager and George Steinbrenner‘s hefty wallet.

As with any franchise, times change.

Jeter is still around, but the faces and symbols of his most successful years are long gone.

From Steinbrenner‘s death to Torre’s awkward parting to age and attrition breaking apart a dynastic core, the Yankees changed considerably as Jeter transitioned from superstar to solid contributor.

Now, as Jeter embarks on his farewell tour in 2014, the future of the organization is as murky as it was the day the all-time-great shortstop arrived. 

In fact, due to a win-now edict, poor farm system and imperfect leadership options, projecting how the Yankees will look over the next five years—both aesthetically and in the win column—is a fool’s errand. 

If the post-Jeter future in the Bronx were up to some Yankees fans, a rebuilding effort would commence in 2015 and beyond.

Due to the immense pressure to win a World Series every single season, the Yankees won’t allow themselves to traverse down that type of path. That was proven this winter when the team blew past their self-imposed $189 million salary cap in order to procure talent to reach the postseason.

On the surface, signing Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka to lucrative, long-term deals is a great way to improve a team that limped to an 85-win finish last summer.

Yet, without some help from the farm system, the Yankees will be unable to field a consistent winner over the next five years.

Unfortunately for a franchise that built a dynasty based on homegrown talent, impact players are not on the horizon for 2014 or the foreseeable future. During a three-part series on the Yankees farm system, Andrew Marchand and Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York took a look at the issues surrounding New York’s inability to produce stars. 

When asked about the state of the system, Brian Cashman was blunt in his assessment.

“It’s not as good as we need it to be in terms of results,” Brian Cashman said. “There are a number of reasons behind that. At the end of the day, we’ve had some misses, without a doubt. We’ve had some guys who didn’t make their projections, who failed to cross the finish line. So basically it’s fair to criticize where we’re currently sitting.”

Unless you believe in Michael Pineda’s shoulder, Manny Banuelos‘ elbow or J.R. Murphy’s catching ability, the Yankees are going to have to spend in free agency to replace Jeter and the rest of their aging roster over the next few years.

While money is rarely an object for this franchise, the long-term payroll sheet is far from clean. In 2015, the Yankees already owe over $148 million to nine players—including a mind-boggling $22 million to Alex Rodriguez, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. 

Eventually, money will come off the books and new stars will arrive, welcomed to New York with glitz and glamour.

The team will only have $86.1 million on the books when the 2016 season concludes. As Chris Cwik of Sports on Earth points out in this free-agent primer, that winter’s class of available stars could include both Giancarlo Stanton and Stephen Strasburg.

Regardless of the cost, the Yankees will find talent. A fertile farm system could sustain success for much less money, but the team doesn’t have that luxury right now.

Beyond procuring talent in the years after Jeter’s retirement, a major leadership void could emanate in the Bronx.

Jeter’s captaincy has been a constant for the Yankees for years, but the veterans surrounding him—from Jorge Posada to Mariano Rivera to Andy Pettitte—all shared a similar trait: They came through the system. 

Prior to this winter, Robinson Cano was the logical choice to be the next leader of the Yankees. Not only was the star second baseman great; he was a Yankee from the day he arrived in America. Upon signing a $240 million contract to play in Seattle, Cano’s opportunity to become Jeter’s heir apparent in the clubhouse disappeared. 

Now, for the first time in a long time, the next Yankees leader will likely be a mercenary. Yes, a former free-agent signing must ascend to the throne of clubhouse enforcer. This winter, Brian McCann arrived in New York with a reputation as a fiery leader from his days in Atlanta.  

Owner Hal Steinbrenner didn’t mince words about McCann’s best traits, per Daniel Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal.

“He’s a very smart guy, and he knows that this is Derek Jeter’s clubhouse,” said Steinbrenner. “And he’s said that. But I think naturally he’s a leader, and that comes out. It’s just a matter of time.”

Steinbrenner may be right about McCann, but another catcher actually represents the best in-house option for the transition away from Derek Jeter’s captaincy.  

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, manager Joe Girardi, a former catcher and teammate of Derek Jeter, is the bridge that will link this era of Yankee baseball to the next successful run. 

“Thus, even in Jeter’s farewell tour, Girardi becomes more important than ever. For in 2014 and beyond, he will be the link to this recent glorious past, the one most responsible for maintaining the Yankee Way. He must keep the standards and win totals high,” Sherman writes.

Sherman, while undoubtedly correct, stumbles upon some of the future issues within this organization.

Girardi, a legitimately excellent manager, is the bridge to that gap and deserves to be given power within the club. Yet, the team needs an on-field leader to emerge in order to sustain long-term success.

In a perfect world, that leader will be cultivated through the farm system, nurtured by Girardi and allowed to flourish on the field and in the clubhouse.

That formula—great organization, excellent manager, history of stars—was perfected by the St. Louis Cardinals. As Albert Pujols’ reign ended, Yadier Molina’s began. Both learned under the tutelage of Tony La Russa.  

The Yankees aren’t the Cardinals. If they were, Jeter’s departure would just be a grand farewell on the path to bigger and better things.

In this case, it’s not. When Derek Jeter retires, an organizational shock could overtake the Bronx. Not only will the Yankees need to replace a shortstop; they’ll need to carve a new identity and rethink a long-term plan for success.

Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi, much like Gene Michael and Buck Showalter in the early ’90s, are smart enough to navigate through this transition. Now comes the hard part: actually doing it. 

Will the Yankees struggle without Derek Jeter? 

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball. 

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Earlier this week, Derek Jeter announced he will be retiring from baseball at the end of the 2014 season, his 20th, all of which have been spent with the New York Yankees.

When an all-timer like Jeter says he’s planning to call it quits, well, folks start putting things into all sorts of context. With that endeavor in mind, the task at hand is to rank the 10 best shortstops ever, which has been Jeter’s position throughout his career.

There are two ways to tackle this. We’ll get to the second later, but the first approach is to evaluate the top 10 shortstops, purely as players.

To help with that comparison and provide some perspective, here’s a look at the career leaders in wins above replacement (WAR) among shortstops who have played since 1900, according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs: 

First, let’s point out that there’s no Alex Rodriguez or Ernie Banks on either list, because trying to determine the 10 best shortstops should be a focus on players who actually, you know, played shortstop. That means this considers only those who spent the majority of their career at the position. Rodriguez has played only 1,272 of 2,568 career games there, while Banks got in 1,125 of 2,528—both check in just below 50 percent. That disqualifies them.

Some other noteworthy names that aren’t on either top-15 WAR ranking? Miguel Tejada, Omar Vizquel, Nomar Garciaparra and Jimmy Rollins, among some of the more contemporary shortstops. Each one has a compelling case for the back end of the top 10, but ultimately, they came up…short.

While Baseball Reference and FanGraphs don’t calculate WAR the exact same way (hence the slightly different numbers for each player), it’s clear from the above table that the statistic does a good job of pointing out the very best shortstops. In fact, among the top 15 leaders from each (16 if you count the FanGraphs tie), 14 appear on both.

Which of those will make the final cut into the top 10 shortstops of all time? Let’s find out.

Begin Slideshow

Despite missing out on the postseason last October, the New York Yankees enter spring training as the biggest story in Major League Baseball.

Yes, the Red Sox won the World Series, the Dodgers carry a $200 million payroll and the Nationals are poised to win big in 2014. But, while compelling, none of their spring training venues can come close to matching the kind of drama and media attention that will surface in Tampa, Fla. at Steinbrenner Field.

Over a four-month span, the Yankees lost Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, and added Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Masahiro Tanaka. As if that wasn’t enough of a whirlwind, Derek Jeter announced that 2014 would be his final season.

For most teams, the first day of spring training is boring. For the New York Yankees, it’s must-see television.

Here’s a recap of the first day of Yankees spring training.

Begin Slideshow

When the dust settles on Derek Jeter‘s farewell season, the Yankees will be forced to face a question that’s been dormant for nearly two decades in New York: Who is going to play shortstop next?

For most teams, this is a yearly or frequent exercise. Unless a stud emerges from the farm system, finding a star-caliber shortstop is difficult. 

Luckily for the Yankees, one could be available on the open market next winter. 

No, we’re not talking about Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera or J.J. Hardy. While all are good players, none profiles as the perfect heir to Derek Jeter’s shortstop throne in New York. Instead, that distinction belongs to current Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez. 

In order to peel back the thinking within the Yankees’ brain trust, let’s take a look at why they would be wise to send a batch of scouts to follow Ramirez’s progress, health and ability throughout the 2014 season.

First, as always when it comes to free-agent signings, is production.

When healthy, Ramirez isn’t just a good replacement for Jeter; he’s one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball history. 

Since debuting as a 22-year-old star in Florida, Ramirez has raked. The following chart shows his production compared to every top shortstop in baseball history during their respective age-22-29 seasons. 

As you can see, Ramirez’s bat is among the best ever at the position. If not for health concerns, baseball fans would be plotting an eventual trip to Cooperstown for the 30-year-old slugger. Over the last three seasons (2011-13), Ramirez has played in over 100 games just once.

After averaging 152 games per season during his first five years in Florida, it’s fair to wonder if health will continue to be an issue moving forward. 

However, production shouldn’t be a concern. 

Last year, Ramirez was arguably the best hitter in the National League, posting a 190 OPS+ for the Dodgers during their run to the NL West title. In fact, Los Angeles’ ascension in the standings coincided with Ramirez’s return from injury in June.

While Yasiel Puig’s emergence received most of the credit, the Dodgers welcomed game-changing production from Ramirez during their 53-13 run from late June through early September. During that span (June 22-Sept. 3), Ramirez posted a .327/.376/.615 slash line. If that slugging percentage isn’t eye-opening, consider this: Miguel Cabrera’s .620 mark over the last two years is almost identical. 

Clearly, Ramirez can adequately replace Jeter in New York’s lineup. Furthermore, if his large frame (6’2″, 225 lbs) dictates a future move to third base—a position he played in 2012—it will buy the Yankees time to replace Jeter with a younger option and serve as a long-term plan for Alex Rodriguez‘s eventual exit from the Bronx.

From a lineup perspective, Ramirez’s power bat would provide a different dynamic to New York’s batting order. With Alfonso Soriano in the last year of his long-term contract, Ramirez could slide into the middle of New York’s lineup along with Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann, giving manager Joe Girardi a right-handed complement to the switch-hitting first baseman and left-handed catcher. 

Of course, there’s more to this equation than just production. If Ramirez is the guy to replace Jeter, a different set of criteria will apply.

The first—willingness to understand Jeter’s legacy and what he meant to baseball—can be checked off. 

Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports spoke to Ramirez about replacing Jeter in 2015, assuming the Dodgers star doesn’t sign a long-term extension in Los Angeles before next winter. While dodging a question that could be a distraction in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, Ramirez went out of his way to praise Jeter’s career and what he meant to him:

“Everybody knows I grew up looking at Jeter,” said Ramirez. “It’s why I wore No. 2 in Miami. He was my idol, my hero. We’re going to miss him on the field. He’s great on the field, off the field. Everybody’s going to miss him.”

When Jeter’s retirement announcement sent shock waves through baseball, Ramirez echoed those sentiments to his fans. 

Outside of production and willingness to ascend to Jeter’s throne, the next Yankee shortstop will need to procure some of the leadership and team-first attributes that New York fans have become accustomed to since 1996. Earlier in Ramirez’s career, those traits were tough to find. Since arriving to Los Angeles, that seems to have changed.

When asked about Ramirez’s number tribute to Jeter, his current manager—and former Yankees captain and coach—Don Mattingly had this to say about Ramirez’s on-field character, per Morosi‘s column:

“We’ve seen nothing but a Derek Jeter-style player—a little different style, obviously, because he’s more flamboyant and coming from a different place. But we see a lot of the leadership qualities in Hanley. And it shows, now that you tell me, that he wants to be that kind of guy,” Mattingly said.

Over the next few years, a leadership void could be apparent in New York’s clubhouse. After recent retirements of Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, Jeter is the last leader from the successful teams of the ’90’s. When he’s gone, someone will have to step up.

While it’s not surprising to hear Ramirez’s manager praise one of his best players, the endorsement of a teammate carries significant weight. When asked about Ramirez’s presence on the field, Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis had glowing reviews of his teammate, per Morosi‘s column:

“Hanley’s such a joy to play with. He’s such a leader out there in the middle of the field, somebody I trust and count on to keep me involved in the game. He’s always somebody who comes to the mound [during conferences] and brings intensity and a strong desire to win that’s infectious to the rest of us.”

At some point, the Yankees are going to attempt to replace Jeter with a long-term option. In reality, no one can duplicate what Jeter is and has been for the past two decades. The next Yankees shortstop will be compared to a once-in-a-lifetime player.  

Ramirez’s apparent red flags—injury history, age, price tag in free agency—didn’t scare the team away from handing Jacoby Ellsbury a seven-year, $153 million contract this winter.

Next February, as the Yankees report to their first spring training without Jeter in over 20 years, signing Ramirez to fill the void is the logical move for a franchise in transition. 

Agree? Disagree? Who should be the next Yankees shortstop?

Comment, follow me on Twitter or “like” my Facebook page to talk about all things baseball. 

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Less than a month before the New York Yankees report to spring training, their captain has finally received some good news on his bothersome left ankle.

Derek Jeter went through on-field workouts for the first time since the 2013 MLB season on Jan. 20, fielding grounders and going through typical baseball activities, per the Associated Press (via ESPN). The workout, while minimal, represents a huge step for Jeter as he looks to return from what can only be described as the worst year of his baseball career.

“I don’t think about it, and that’s a good thing,” Jeter said. “It’s good to have a normal offseason and get some work in. Everything is normal now.”

Jeter first broke his ankle in Game 1 of the Yankees’ 2012 ALCS matchup with the Detroit Tigers. Expected to return for the beginning of the 2013 regular season, Jeter instead broke the ankle again in April and sat out until July. A calf injury compounded the mounting series of leg ailments, and then he re-injured the ankle one more time in September to cut his season short.

In total, Jeter played only 17 games. It was the first time in his career he had ever missed more than 50 games in a season and only the second time in his career he had suited up for fewer than 130 contests. While Jeter’s season never really got off the ground, it was a miserable affair during his short period on the field. He had only 12 hits in 63 at-bats (.190 batting average), hit a single home run and didn’t steal a base.

Per FanGraphs, Jeter’s wins above replacement (WAR) was negative for the first time in his career—excluding his shortened 1995 big league stay that doesn’t count toward his service time.

The 2013 season also proved disappointing for the Yankees, as they missed the playoffs for just the second time since 1994. They looked to rectify that during the offseason by signing Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, but Jeter’s pinstriped teammates have undergone more changes than possibly ever before.

Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera retired, leaving Jeter the last member of the “core four.” The Seattle Mariners outbid the Yankees in the Robinson Cano chase. With Alex Rodriguez suspended for the 2014 season, barring a successful appeal, Jeter’s two longest-running infield mates will be gone this season.

Jeter turns 40 in June, and it’s clear the times are changing in the Bronx. It will be interesting to see whether he’ll be able to stick around this season to be a part of it.

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Over the last two decades, the New York Yankees have put the fate of their franchise in Derek Jeter‘s hands. Now, as the 39-year-old enters the twilight of his career, the team is asking its captain to do something only three shortstops in the history of the sport have done: profile as an everyday shortstop as a 40-year-old.

From 1996 through 2012, spanning the first 17 seasons of Derek Jeter‘s career, the Yankees shortstop averaged 151 games played per year. That number, remarkable on its own, is even more staggering when considering the chunk of games missed in both 2003 and 2011 due to shoulder and calf injuries, respectively. 

For 15 of 17 big league seasons, Jeter played in at least 148 games. During that span, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer racked up 71.6 bWAR and five World Series rings. 

After an injury-plagued 2013 that limited him to just 17 games, the Yankees are banking on Jeter to regain his health and take the field on an everyday basis during the 2014 season.

Based on the history of baseball, it’s a major risk. 

Only three shortstops—Honus Wagner, Omar Vizquel and Luke Appling—have logged 500-plus plate appearances in an age-40 season. Even if we dilute the criteria down to include Barry Larkin‘s 2004 season, Jeter is chasing his past as his present becomes a murky issue around the win-now Yankees.

The precedent has been set for Jeter to strive for, but an apples-to-apples comparison isn’t quite fair in this situation. None of the shortstops above missed as much time as Jeter during their age-39 seasons. In fact, on average, the quartet of 40-year-old iron men played in more than 96 games in the season prior—in other words, five times as many as Jeter did last year.

As you can see, the shortstops profiled defied the odds but didn’t carry their teams.

For the Yankees, that’s an acceptable scenario due to the dearth of options behind Jeter on the roster. As long as the 19-year veteran is healthy enough to take the field, he’ll be productive enough to slide somewhere near Appling and Larkin in OPS productivity. 

MLB Network’s Brian Kenny, when breaking down the top 10 shortstops right now (video below), alluded to a healthy Jeter as a productive player. Considering that Jeter’s 2012 produced a .791 OPS, 216 hits and 99 runs scored, don’t expect any argument here.  

Yet, it’s Jeter’s ability to actually stay on the field that should have the Yankees’ brass worried.

Over the next few weeks, as veteran players begin to trickle into Florida and Arizona for spring training, expect to hear more stories like this one from Matt Ehalt of ESPN New York about Jeter’s excellent health, workout regimen and reasons why Jeter’s 2013 didn’t go as planned. 

It’s easy to fall for the trap that Jeter’s leg issues in 2013—stemming from a broken ankle suffered in the 2012 ALCS—will disappear with a full winter of conditioning and strength work. After all, Jeter wasn’t able to work out his lower body last year, contributing to muscle pulls and awkward running when he eventually returned for unproductive stints last season.

However, the attrition of a season, combined with Jeter’s age and lack of alternatives behind him on the Yankees depth chart, should be a cause for concern. 

Unless the team changes course and pursues free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew, which isn’t likely according to Peter Gammons, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is poised to present manager Joe Girardi with a difficult decision: run a potentially productive 40-year-old shortstop into the ground and back to injury or cut his playing time in favor of offensively challenged players.

At this moment, Brendan Ryan and Eduardo Nunez are the only other shortstops on the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Last year, sorting by players afforded at least 300 plate appearances, Ryan had the worst OPS (.528) in the sport, per Baseball-Reference (subscription required). Since debuting in 2010, Nunez’s OPS+ of 87 puts him about 13 percent worse than the league average.

Simply put, the Yankees don’t have enough offense at shortstop to survive if Jeter misses time.

If we can see that, surely the front office of one of baseball’s most successful teams should clearly understand it. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com doesn’t think the Yankees want to bet against Derek Jeter. As he explains in the following video, they want Jeter to come back and play shortstop at a high level once again. 

To be fair, Jeter has defied the odds and critics before. After an awful 2010 (90 OPS+), Jeter returned to his old form after he surpassed the 3,000-hit plateau in 2011. When Jeter owned a .260/.327/.327 slash line on June 3, 2011, it was easy to understand why the words “finished” and “end of the line” were associated with the Cooperstown-bound star. 

As if on cue, Jeter reclaimed his stroke that summer. From June 4, 2011, through the end of that season, the freshly minted member of the 3,000-hit club carried an .805 OPS. To put that number into perspective, Jeter’s carer OPS is .828. At the age of 37, he was nearly as good as he’s been for an entire career.

Doubting Derek Jeter is a fool’s errand. Clearly, the Yankees believe in the health of their shortstop. If they didn’t, a viable backup option would already be present on the roster for the 2014 season. 

Time will tell if Brian Cashman and Co. are correct, but as of right now, it’s hard not to be worried about the team if Jeter’s age forces him to miss significant time again this summer.

Should the Yankees be more concerned about Derek Jeter?

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The New York Yankees will have a very different look to their offense this season.  

With the key additions of Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran in the offseason, this team has promise again.  

Here is a look at the most crucial players for the Yankees going into the 2014 season.  

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Begin Slideshow

Derek Jeter‘s issues with the injury bug don’t appear to be coming to an end anytime soon. The New York Yankees‘ 39-year-old shortstop was pulled from Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox with an apparent ankle injury. 

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports provided the news:

As I just reported, #Yankees’ Jeter left game due to issue with or near surgically repaired left ankle.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 7, 2013

Rosenthal provided more details:

Girardi told Jeter: “I don’t like the way you’re running. I’m going to protect you.” Confirmed issue is with ankle.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 7, 2013 

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