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A number of MLB teams are not at full strength at this point in the year because some of their players are still recovering from offseason surgeries and spring injuries.

These players can provide a big boost once they return, and they can help change a team from one that is struggling to one that is fighting for a playoff spot.

Sometimes, the impact is more than what the player does on the field. In certain cases, their leadership ability is invaluable.

The following players will have a big impact on their team’s performance once they return.

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What are the odds of longtime New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter retiring after 2013?

Right now, I’d have to say about equivalent to those of an asteroid made of cotton candy colliding with the earth, which I presume are pretty close to zero.

But by the end of the 2013 season? Yeah, I can see the odds taking a hike. Even ballplayers as indestructible as Jeter can’t hold off retirement forever, and it could be a realistic option after this season’s 162 games are safely in the books.

Like that, I just set off a few thousand “Jeter Doubter” alarms.

Including, most likely, that of ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian O’Connor, who penned a column on Tuesday warning the critics that they’re only going to succeed in motivating Jeter. He may be likely to start the season on the disabled list—Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has the word—due to his recovery from left ankle surgery, but he’s still Derek Jeter, darn it.

All the same, there are a few dire hypotheticals for the coming season that have the power to change the situation. And they are…

What If Jeter Can’t Field?

This is a trick question. Jeter already can’t field.

Yeah, yeah. The guy’s got five Gold Gloves and is well-known around the world for making that one dazzling jump-throw in the hole that only he can make. Stuff about his instincts. End of argument.

That’s how these chats usually go, but there’s far more evidence in favor of Jeter being a subpar defensive shortstop than there is in favor of him being a quality defensive shortstop. Especially nowadays.

Jeter had a darn good season on defense in 2009, a year in which he posted an 8.0 UZR/150 and three Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs. Coincidentally, this wasn’t long after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman challenged Jeter to improve his defense, which O’Connor wrote about in The Captain (Sports Illustrated has the excerpt).

But in the three years since then, it hasn’t been pretty. The following table shows Jeter’s UZR/150, DRS and RZR (Revised Zone Rating) from the past three seasons, as well as his rank among everyday MLB shortstops in each category.

The rough translation here is that if Jeter isn’t the worst defensive shortstop in the majors, he’s certainly the leading candidate.

Jeter is not going to get better defensively in 2013. That surgically-repaired left ankle is going to make it extremely difficult for him to improve his range, which is already well below-average.

Beyond that, it’s extremely unlikely that Jeter is going to make 84 percent of his starts at short as he did last year. It’s asking a lot for him to even make 75 percent of his starts at shortstop. According to Baseball-Reference.com, there are only a handful of 39-year-olds in MLB history who played 75 percent of their games at shortstop (minimum 100 games played). It’s a young man’s position.

It’s a good bet that Jeter will be spending quite a bit of time in the DH spot this year, and he may even find himself playing a position other than shortstop. Cashman hinted at a future move to the outfield back in 2011, and the Yankees could need Jeter at third base if Kevin Youkilis happens to join Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list for an extended period of time.

The Yankees may decide to move Jeter off shortstop even if there’s no clear place to put him. Because of all the power they’ve lost, they’re not going to be as much about run generation this year. To help make up for that, they must be as much about run prevention as possible, and that involves fielding their best defense day after day.

That could involve Eduardo Nunez at short, or perhaps a trade acquisition.

Shortstop is the only position Jeter has ever known. Considering his reputation, it’s the only position he’s ever wanted to know. If it’s taken away from him this year, one of two reactions could be inspired.

The first involves Jeter getting riled up and then doing everything in his power to prove that he can still play short in 2014, in which case he certainly wouldn’t be retiring. 

The other involves Jeter seeing the logic in his removal from the shortstop position and—gasp!—accepting it. If it comes to that, he could either hang around at another position or decide to call it a career.

If he can still hit, my guess is that Jeter would be willing to hang around at another position. But about that…

What If Jeter Can’t Hit?

This is the part where I tell you that Jeter’s 2012 season was a fluke , and that everyone should stop raving about it.

Not quite.

I may have used the F-word in conjunction with Jeter’s 2012 season at one point. It certainly looks like a fluke, as there must be some sort of witchcraft involved when a player goes from hitting .282/.347/.378 the prior two seasons to hitting .316/.362/.429 with a league-high 216 hits the next.

But a closer look at the situation reveals Jeter’s 2012 season not to be a fluke, but to be a continuation of a very strong second half in 2011.

Jeter hit .270/.330/.353 in the first half of 2011. In the second half, he rebounded to hit .327/.383/.428, with the key being a huge increase in BABIP. Jeter’s was .294 in the first half, and .388 in the second half.

It helped that he made better contact, as FanGraphs can show that Jeter’s line-drive percentage in 2011 went from 12.2 in the first half to 27.3 in the second half, a much more Jeter-like number.

Numbers such as these shouldn’t have been sustainable in 2012. But sure enough, there was Jeter at the end of the year with a .316/.362/.429 line, a .347 BABIP and a 21.7 line-drive percentage (see FanGraphs). That there’s a season very much worth a tip of one’s cap.

But the big question lingers anyway: Can Jeter do it again?

The projections say no. Refer to the most recent FanGraphs link, and you’ll see that Bill James is projecting a .298/.359/.400 line for Jeter, which would be a decent-sized step back on the average and slugging fronts. The ZiPS projection for Jeter calls for a .277/.337/.369 line, which would be a step back to where he was in 2010.

These two projections have a couple of things working for them. One is the fact that Jeter needs a high BABIP more than most hitters to be productive, and history says the odds of him repeating a .347 BABIP in his age-39 season are unlikely. Baseball-Reference.com can show that only three 39-year-olds in history have managed BABIPs higher than .340.

Beyond that, there’s the ankle. If it’s barking all season long, Jeter’s capacity to hit could be compromised.

If Jeter’s hitting does take a step back in 2013, his quest for baseball glory is going to slow to a crawl. He’s up over 3,300 career hits, but he’s eyeing 4,000 hits, and O’Connor noted in his column that Jeter would love to break Pete Rose’s all-time hits record:

And yes, there are those who know Jeter who believe he wants Rose’s career hits record of 4,256 as badly as Rose wanted Joe DiMaggio’s record hitting streak of 56. The captain needs 952 to tie.

Jeter still has a long way to go to get to Rose, and the way is going to become even longer if it becomes apparent that he doesn’t have any more 200-hit seasons left in him.

If Jeter’s bat does fail him in 2013, two more possibilities come to light.

The first, naturally, is that Jeter will do the Derek Jetery thing and press on in defiance of his increasing age and declining numbers, in which case he would be seen again in 2014.

The other is that he’ll see the writing on the wall. His spirit would no doubt be willing, but he’d be looking at three subpar seasons out of four in his old age, a less-than-encouraging sample size.

Even without a good bat or the shortstop position to call home, Jeter could always stick around to share in the Yankees’ glory in 2014 and beyond. But about that…

What If the Yankees Are No Good?

The 2013 Yankees are not a bad team. Not on the same level as the Miami Marlins or the Houston Astros, anyway. 

…They’re just a bad team by Yankees standards. Like each one of the Jaws sequels, this year’s Yankees team looks like a watered-down version of the real thing.

That much was apparent at the outset of spring training, when the Yankees came into camp sans A-Rod, Nick Swisher, Rafael Soriano and Russell Martin, the latter three of whom left as free agents over the winter.

The spring could have brought good news, but it hasn’t. Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are both going to be on the shelf for a few weeks to start the season due to injuries. Bryan Hoch says Phil Hughes is likely to begin the season on the DL as well. Jeter, of course, is very likely to join the lot.

In response to all the injuries, the best pick-me-ups the Yankees have been able to find are guys like Chien-Ming Wang, who hasn’t been a relevant major league pitcher since 2007, and now Vernon Wells, who posted a .667 OPS over the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and is just another old guy for a roster that’s already too old.

Odds are the Yankees will find a way to contend for a spot in the postseason. To that end, their track record speaks for itself.

But a legit World Series contender? Nope. The 2010, 2011 or 2012 Yankees weren’t good enough to make it there, and these Yankees don’t have the talent of those clubs. To boot, the AL East is going to be a more hotly contested battleground this season than it’s been in years. The Yankees are part of a very level playing field.

Instead of contending to go to the World Series, it looks at least as likely that this could be the year the Yankees’ bubble finally bursts. This season could be for them what the 2012 season was to the Boston Red Sox.

In sticking with our central theme here, what if it happens? What if 2013 does prove to be the year that the Yankees finally fall from grace? What will Jeter do then?

If it does happen, it stands to reason that the potential struggles we’ve discussed regarding Jeter are going to be a significant part of the reason why the Yankees did fall from grace.

And if that happens, it stands to reason that Cashman and the front office will start looking around for an heir apparent to Jeter, who has no commitment of any kind to the Yankees beyond 2013.

And here’s where we could again find either the defiant Jeter or the realistic Jeter coming to the fore.

The defiant Jeter would convince himself that the Yankees still have some life in them and that he’s still capable of helping the ballclub.

The other Jeter would see a lost cause when looking at the Yankees and decide that he’s better off riding into the sunset than trying to fight a battle he can’t possibly win.

Final Thoughts

Way back when, I said that the odds right now of Jeter retiring after 2013 are essentially zilch. His situation is uncertain heading into the season, but not that uncertain.

But you had better believe that this season could take a toll on Jeter. Not just physically, as every season does, but psychologically as well. It would be a perfect storm of things to make that happen, but a removal from shortstop, poor hitting and lots of losing would make for a pretty perfect storm.

Bear in mind that Jeter wouldn’t even be particularly well compensated if he were to return in 2014. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, his 2014 player option is only worth an $8 million base, and has since only risen to $9.5 million, thanks to the Silver Slugger he won last year.

That would be a significant pay cut from the $17 million Jeter is slated to make this year, and it’s the kind of money he can afford to leave on the table seeing, as how he’s already made a pile of cash higher than Mt. Everest in his career.

So if 2013 is as much of a disaster as it could be, there won’t be much to draw Jeter back into the fold. If he were to return following the disaster that was 2013, it would be for pride.

However, we’re talking about a guy who could walk away from the game with lots of pride just as easily. If Jeter were to retire after 2013, he’d do so with very, very little left to prove.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter. 

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By this time next week, MLB will have thrown their first pitch. Before that, they’ll pitch several players on to the DL. Injuries often become the deciding factor in many of those last-minute roster decisions. A player may be healthy now, but might have missed opportunities to impress the coaching staff earlier in the spring due to even minor injuries.

We’ll begin the season with a number of big-name players on the DL, but remember that at the start of the season, there’s a bit of a loophole. Teams can put players on the DL with a “retroactive move,” in essence post-dating the start of the DL stint. This year, it means that a player that has not played in a major league exhibition game from March 22 can come off early, as soon as April 6. 

To do this, the players have to be held out of games, and you can see several teams doing this around the league. A player can play in minor league games and preserve the retro move, so as with Derek Jeter and others, they’ve essentially already started the process. Look for a number of these moves to happen this week, giving a short-term roster relief that will allow a team to bring a 26th or 27th player north, delaying that hard final roster decision a bit more.

There’s a lot of injuries to check out around the league, as there will be every week of the season, so powered by Yasiel Puig, let’s get to it:

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The optimism Derek Jeter’s spring debut brought to the New York Yankees is receding after the legendary shortstop’s ankle injury forced him back onto the bench, but there is still no reason for the ball club to worry at this point.

USA Today’s Chad Jennings reported the following on Jeter’s setback: “New York manager Joe Girardi said that Jeter was flexing the ankle a lot during batting practice. Jeter eventually went to trainer Steve Donohue, who then told Girardi, who made the lineup change.”

Jeter broke his ankle in the first game of the American League Championship Series but was able to return to the lineup for his first spring training game on March 9, just under five months after his injury. 

On March 14, he was allowed to take up his usual position at shortstop. Up until this point, Jeter had been making stellar progress in the rehabilitation process. 

After 18 years and 2,743 total games in those iconic pinstripes, Jeter has achieved superhero status. Every time he puts on his Yankee uniform, he goes from Clark Kent to Superman.

But he is 38 years old and coming off of a major injury. Jeter’s ability to recover quickly from injuries is not the same as it was a decade ago, and he knows this.

Jennings quotes him saying, “‘I’m not concerned, because I was told this was going to happen.” Jeter is aware that there will be days where his ankle simply won’t let him play pain-free.

The Yankees wasted no chances and rushed him in for an MRI, and it revealed what Jeter suspected.

The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Barbarisi reported the following via Twitter:

With Opening Day still two weeks away, there is no reason to push his limits. Pennants are not won or lost in April, and Jeter appears to have recognized that his most important task is to be fully healthy for the fall. 

His absence is not a reason for Yankees fans to worry, and there still should not be cause for concern if he sits out for another few games. This is part of the rehab process for an older player, and Yankees fans should remain calm for now. 

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Derek Jeter was scratched from the New York Yankees‘ spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday due to a “cranky” left ankle, according to manager Joe Girardi (via Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com). 

UPDATE: Tuesday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET by Ethan Grant

According to Daniel Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal (via Twitter), an MRI on Jeter’s left ankle came back better than expected. He’s being listed as day-to-day:

—End of update—

The star shortstop suffered a scary injury in October when he broke his ankle in the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. He underwent surgery to repair the damage and hadn’t had any documented issues with the ankle until now.

Per Matthews’ report, Girardi said he’s keeping his “fingers crossed” that it isn’t serious. Jeter stressed that his absence from the lineup was merely a precautionary measure and that doctors had told him to expect some general stiffness in the ankle. 

“It’s not in the area I broke,” Jeter said. “I was told, ‘You’re going to feel it, not necessarily in the ankle but around the ankle.’ It’s normal. You got to deal with it and move on. lf I wasn’t told, I’d be concerned.”

Jeter signed a three-year, $51 million extension (2014 player option included) with New York in December 2010 despite a contentious offseason with the team. He responded by hitting .297 in 2011 and .316 in 2012. The Yankees captain also posted a .333 average in six postseason games last year.

The 38-year-old played in 159 games last season, but played in only 131 games in 2011. As the veteran ages, concerns over his ankle—and general durability—are sure to mount. Though he can still pull off the occasional highlight-reel play at short, it’s clear that his mobility is on the downturn. 

Though it is unknown when exactly Jeter will be ready to return, it has to worry the Yankees that precautions are already being taken with the start of the 2013 season on the horizon.  

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The New York Yankees may be struggling in spring training, but the team got a lift when future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter returned from the injuries they suffered last season for their debuts.

Jeter broke his ankle during the 2012 postseason, and Rivera tore his ACL while catching fly balls during batting practice before a game in May.

Their presence did not stop the Yankees from losing 2-1 to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and dropping to 3-11 in their exhibition games thus far.  

But both players performed well in their debuts. Jeter went 1-for-2 with a single, and Rivera struck out two batters without allowing a hit during his lone inning on the mound.

Still, the team is being cautious with its aging stars. Jeter did not play his usual shortstop position and was instead used as the designated hitter. However, he felt good about his outing, with the Associated Press recap (via ESPN.com) of the game quoting him saying, “Everything was fine. It’s good to get back into a game. Now, it’s normal spring training. Get more and more comfortable.”

Jeter is 38 years old and received surgery on October 20 to repair his ankle. He received clearance to resume playing this past Thursday.

Rivera’s comeback is more surprising. He is 43 years old and had surgery on his knee on June 12, putting him just nine months out from the operation.

The veteran closer does not appear to be wasting time preparing for the season, which he recently announced would be the final one of his illustrious career.  

With the two players who defined the Yankees during the Steinbrenner era back in the lineup, the Yankees will hope to start looking better in their spring training games.

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This was the photo that every New York Yankees fan had been dreaming of for some time now—Derek Jeter back and in business as the designated hitter.

Per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

And the reality is that the return of the team captain and inspirational leader could not come a moment too soon for the Yankees.

His return was highly anticipated and expected to produce great things. Whilst he didn’t churn out three home runs and set the world on fire, his appearance back in the starting lineup showed that the Yankees will once again be tough to beat in 2013.

Jeter’s return was simply perfect timing for the baseball powerhouse.

The 38-year-old hadn’t played before Saturday since October 13, 2012, when he suffered an ankle injury against the Detroit Tigers. The fact it came in the American League Championships Series just made it worse and more heartbreaking for all involved in the injury.

But watching him smack the very first pitch he saw against the Atlanta Braves to left field for a single, it seemed that the Yankees would be all right again. Not that they weren’t strong or disciplined without him, just that his presence made it feel like a “normal” Yankees team once more. 

It was like a big collective, sigh of relief.

Yankees fans must be quick to realize that his return here doesn’t signal a complete reemergence of the star shortstop who has etched his name amongst baseball’s greatest ever. The 38-year-old will likely be rested Sunday, then remain as the designated hitter for another game against the St. Louis Cardinals before picking up with the shortstop duties once more (per ESPN).

But after the five-month layoff, simply having him back is the best news possible, regardless of whether he is completely ready right now.

After all, it is just spring training. 

In a day where Mariano Rivera’s retirement announcement dominated the headlines and brought a sense of sadness over the franchise, the return of Jeter was perfect timing. And in light of a season that will no doubt be incredibly grueling as the Yankees look to establish their dominance in the league once more, Jeter’s return makes for a compelling year ahead.

“It’s my job to be ready April 1,” Jeter said during the week.

You can guarantee that New York Yankees fans certainly hope so. After all, it is a long season ahead, and having Jeter back would make a huge difference.

Both on and off the field.

Will Derek Jeter start for the Yankees’ on opening day?

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter:  Follow @dantalintyre

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With the New York Yankees getting older, manager Joe Girardi will have to be more conservative with the amount of playing time he gives a lot of the core players on the roster. 

Derek Jeter will be high on the list of players who need to be monitored. 

When last we saw Jeter, he was being carried off the field at Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. He was diagnosed with a fractured right ankle that required surgery. 

The rehab time for Jeter appears to put him on track to return around Opening Day on April 1 against Boston. 

The Yankee Captain told Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News that he feels great right now and is having no issues getting back to full strength. 

When I start baseball activities, I always do what I just did right there. The first week or two, I don’t get off the grass, I stay right there. Spring training is six, seven weeks, know what I mean? I don’t have to be ready to play a game Feb. 16 or 17. I don’t have to be in game shape that day and, now with my ankle, I don’t have to be in game shape by Feb. 20-something when we start, so it’s a process.

If Jeter is completely healthy by Opening Day, then by all means, put him in the lineup and let him go. He seems to age in a manner differently than most players, as evidenced by the fact he hit .316 with 216 hits and played in 159 regular season games at the age of 38 in 2012. 

Yes, Jeter still has the same problems that have plagued him for a long time (defense, lack of power), but if you are getting 200 hits in a season near the age of 40, you are doing a few things right. 

Considering what the Yankees have to deal with this season, including the uncertainty surrounding Alex Rodriguez‘s hip, an aging roster that is starting to see stars like Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson decline and lack of payroll flexibility for the first time ever, this team has to do all it can to keep key players healthy for the long haul. 

Jeter is going to push himself as hard as he possibly can because that’s the kind of competitor he is. He doesn’t care how old he is, as long as his name is the lineup card every single day. 

It is on Jeter, and to a lesser extent Girardi, to take a step back and see what is going on with this team right now. 

Jeter is also quoted in the Daily News piece as saying that he believes the Yankees are experienced, not old. 

Experience is a nice story to sell the media on, but given what we know about baseball, the older you are the less likely it is that age will hold up over the course of a six-month regular season and nine months of game action if you include spring training and—assuming you get there—the playoffs. 

Time is an important factor for Jeter and the Yankees. They don’t have a lot of it left with this core group, so if they hope to win a championship it is important they are fresh when it counts. 

That competitive spirit is why baseball fans love Jeter. It could also be a problem if he doesn’t want to rest 20-25 games during the regular season. 

Follow @adamwells1985

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Most fans are well aware at this point of the New York Yankees‘ plan to cut payroll down to $189 million before the start of the 2014 season.

Entering the 2013, the Yankees have at least 10 significant players on their roster that can or will be free agents after the season.

Their budget plans will make it next to impossible to bring back everyone.

There are players the Yanks would like to bring back but won’t be given a chance to.

There are players the Yanks will have no interest in re-signing.

Then there are the players the Yanks absolutely want and need to bring back, but the price may dictate a different outcome.

The following is a list of players for whom a big 2013 season could mean a major contract in the future.

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The New York Yankees off-season has been a quiet one due to ownership implementing a new frugal stance.

Instead of story-lines about signing the biggest free agents, Yankee fans were relegated to watching the realities of missing the 2013 postseason grow by the day.

So as a result, fans, the media, and bloggers alike have been provided with plenty of things to grumble about.

And for the first time in almost two decades, the paved regular-season road to October that the Yankees build during the off-season is no longer a smooth ride.

But in reality, not all hope is lost yet; and here are three reasons why.

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