Is it goodbye Nunez or see you later?
Yesterday we learned that Eduardo Nunez was designated for assignment to make way for Yangervis Solarte on the 40-man roster. Some might say that our long national nightmare is finally over, but it might be a little too early to celebrate this glorious roster move. After designating Nunez for assignment, the Yankees still have 10 days to either trade him, release him, or put him on waivers. So if they can't find a taker for the 26-year-old infielder, there's a possibility he could still end up back in the system, and we'll then live in constant fear that he might return.
There are a few teams that could use Nunez, and therefore, as silly as it may sound, could actually trade for him. The Rangers, Tigers, and Blue Jays all have big problems with their infield. Jurickson Profar will miss most of the first half with a torn shoulder muscle, so Texas will have to rely on the likes of Josh Wilson and Donnie Murphy at second base now. Jose Iglesias broke his legs and now the Tigers have decided to use Alex Gonzalez and Andrew Romine. The Blue Jays just lost Jose Reyes to yet another hamstring injury. How long before any of these teams start looking at Stephen Drew as a potential option? If they want to avoid the draft pick compensation (though Toronto is protected), Nunez could be a cheaper alternative.
The Yankees are unlikely to flat out release him. Even if they don't see him as a major league option anymore, it would be silly to simply get rid of him for absolutely nothing. While the Yankees did their best to acquire as much depth as possible this offseason, Brendan Ryan's injury has kind of ruined their depth chart at shortstop. Ryan was supposed to be the backup to Derek Jeter with Dean Anna providing extra depth in Triple-A. Now that Anna made the Opening Day roster, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders don't exactly have an everyday shortstop. There are rumblings that Zelous Wheeler is their man right now and Addison Maruszak is not with the team.
They have probably known for awhile now that they were going to get rid of Nunez, the delay was just a whole lot of strategy. As much as most of us dislike Eduardo Nunez, he's still someone who would likely be claimed. The first few days of the season is the perfect time to sneak someone through waivers. At this point, everyone has set their Opening Day rosters and made their adjustments, so it's unlikely that anyone has an open 40-man roster spot for him. As much as we all just want him gone, if the Yankees don't trade him, I feel like he'll somehow make it through waivers.
I don't want Nunez on my team, I don't even want him in my organization, but the reality is that there's a chance he might not go away, it could even make sense to keep him around. Still, if someone wants him, the Yankees should unload him in a hurry. We have 10 more days to think about this!