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With a need for some left-handed power at DH, a reunion with Raul Ibanez could make sense.
The Yankees are reportedly interested in a reunion with former Yankee Raul Ibanez, says George King and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. With a hole at designated hitter at the moment, the Yankees could use a power bat like Ibanez's.
Ibanez, who turns 42 next June, showed last season that he has enough in the tank. The lefty-swinging Ibanez hit .242/.306/.487, 117 wRC+ in 496 plate appearances with the Mariners last season. However, he did most of his damage in the first half (143 wRC+) and fell off in the second half (79 wRC+). As we all know, the Yankees let Ibanez walk last winter in favor of Travis Hafner and that move failed tremendously.
If brought back, Ibanez would be used as a DH (considering he's a disaster in the outfield) and would probably need a right-handed platoon partner. Unsurprisingly, Ibanez has been better against right-handed pitching (122 wRC+) than left-handed pitching (96 wRC+) in his career, though last season, he posted a 121 wRC+ against lefties (140 plate appearances), but still hit well against righties (116 wRC+). If they choose to platoon him, they could use some sort of quasi-platoon with Derek Jeter DHing against lefties (and in the field against righties) with Ibanez getting the at-bats at DH against righties.
Because he's in his 40's, Ibanez could be had on only on a one-year deal and it'd come pretty cheap, too. Raul made $2.75 million last year, and although he could get a raise, it wouldn't be for that much. Guys in their 40's can fall off the face of the Earth in a hurry. Either way, with no signs of Plan 189 being abolished, Ibanez would potentially be a nice, affordable fit (if last year's second half fade isn't a sign of things to come). As we saw in 2012, most notably in the postseason, his bat would play pretty well in Yankee Stadium.
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