Yankees Designate Eduardo Nunez for Assignment

The man once thought to be the heir apparent to Derek Jeter at shortstop in Eduardo Nunez has been designated for assignment by the team before tonight’s Opening Night game.  The move was required to open a spot for the man who beat out Nunez this spring, Yangervis Solarte, on the 40 man roster.  The DFA shows exactly how far he has fallen in the eyes of the Yankee brass.  In the end, he simply never developed the way the Yankees hoped.

His defense regressed to the point of making him unplayable and his bat never developed into anything more than mediocre.  He was also hurt by his inability to grasp playing multiple positions, in fact, many who have watched him play over the last few seasons will tell you that he cannot play any position effectively on defense.  Injuries over the last two years did not help cause either.

The Yankees will now have ten days to trade him, release him or place him on waivers.  If General Manager Brian Cashman pursues a trade, he will likely find several suitors for Nunez.  Despite Alex Gonzalez‘s late game heroics for Detroit yesterday, most believe the Tigers are still in the market for an everyday shortstop.

North of border, the Blue Jays, have a need as well after learning that Jose Reyes re-injured his hamstring yesterday.  A match with the cross town rival Mets may also make sense on paper, as the team from Queens has a need in their infield, however Yankees-Mets deals are very rare.