Nakajima In? Nunez Out? Decision Time for Yankees

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     Many of you may know that last month the New York Yankees won the rights to negotiate with Japanese utility infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima.  Now reading this, you are probably thinking, "but we have Eduardo Nunez as the utility infielder?" That's correct but many believe that Nakajima is an upgrade defensively.  In 2008, he won a Gold Glove.  Don't underestimate his offense though.  The 29 year old batted .297 last season, in which he hit 16 home runs and 100 RBIs with his Japanese team, the Saitama Seibu Lions.
     Now although the Yankees have won a 30 day window to exclusively negotiate with Nakajima, time is running out and there are only about 5 days left.  Jim Heyman of CBSSports.com claims that the two are still "far apart" in terms of a contract.  In Japan, he is still owed between $3 to $4 million, so you can expect he'd want a slight increase to play in the MLB.  Word around the Bronx is that if Hiroyuki does sign with the Yankees, Eduardo Nunez could be on the trading block for some starting pitching.  As I stated in a previous article, a trade for Matt Garza could happen if New York is willing to part with some players, including Nunez. It'll be interesting to see what the Yankees do, as they have had such a quiet offseason.