Yankees Rumors: Interest Being Shown In Brett Gardner

New York Yankees Rumors: The Yankees have received plenty of interest in Brett Gardner but they are not inclined to trade him at this time.

New York Yankees rumors have been flying in during the MLB Winter Meetings. The Yankees made a number of trades last season in an effort to get younger and open up salary. With the new luxury tax line in place, the Yankees are now open for business.

It has been a relatively slow winter thus far for the Yankees. They have been rumored to be in on plenty of players, but have only signed Matt Holliday thus far. They traded Brian McCann to the Houston Astros, so Holliday will be part of the plan to replace him at designated hitter.

A lot of the talks surrounding the Yankees have amounted to much of nothing. Their interest in Carlos Beltran ended up not being as serious as originally believed. They had some interest in Brett Cecil for their bullpen, but he signed early in the process. Yoenis Cespedes was never in their spending plans.

The Yankees are trying their best to land one of the elite closers remaining on the market. Mark Melancon signed a four-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, leaving Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen as the best remaining closers. The Yankees are in the running for both, as the closer spot is reportedly their main focus.

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Once that is figured out there is still plenty of work for the Yankees to do. They could use some help in the starting rotation and need to figure out the logjam in the outfield. One way to alleviate a logjam and help out another area is to make a trade.

If that happens, Brett Gardner could be someone on the move. The Yankees have gauged interest in Gardner in the past; he was involved in a couple of rumors last offseason and leading up to the MLB Trade Deadline this past year.

Could this be the year the Yankees make a deal with Gardner? According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the Yankees are receiving interest in Gardner. But, general manager Brian Cashman says that none of the offers have moved the needle in terms of trading away Garnder.

"“He’s here not because I can’t move him; he’s here because I’m not comfortable moving him, or haven’t been satisfied in my asks that would make me move him,” Cashman said. “You’re going through the process, and you see if that changes. So far to this point, I’ve said no to a lot of different concepts thrown my way on it.”"

It is not surprising that there are teams that are interested in adding Gardner and that the Yankees want to keep him. He has been a productive player that brings a lot to the table. He also brings an excellent glove with him as he won his first Gold Glove this past season.

The Yankees have been turning down deals for Gardner for years. Three years ago, as Hoch notes, the Yankees were offered Brandon Phillips from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Gardner and they turned it down.

“He’s a hard player to move because he’s on an exceptional contract, he’s extremely consistent, he’s as tough as they come and he’s a great clubhouse guy,” Cashman said. “I’ve been asked about him for a number of years now in the wintertime and in the summertime.”

Next: 5 Potential Landing Spots For Brett Gardner

Right now it seems that a deal for Gardner is unlikely; the Yankees like him and he is not a burden on their salary cap like other players on the roster. But, they will undoubtedly listen to offers. They would have to be blown away to part ways with Gardner, but if a team gets desperate enough for outfield help the Yankees could strike and take advatange of a weak free agent class.

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