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Despite a pitching staff that's been absolutely decimated by injuries, an anemic offense that's produced the fourth-fewest runs in the American League, and a run differential (-27) that projects them as a 49-54 team, the New York Yankees somehow find themselves in a playoff spot, percentage points ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays in the race for the AL's second Wild Card.
Wisely not wanting to push their luck with their overachieving roster, the Yankees are reportedly pursuing help in both the lineup and the rotation, and have most recently been linked to Minnesota Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Per Heyman, the Yankees may prefer Willingham to other potentially-available outfielders, like Marlon Byrd or Alex Rios, because of his reasonable $7 million salary.
The 35-year-old Willingham has an impressive career OPS+ of 121, and peaked in 2012 with 35 home runs and a .260/.366/.524 slash line. This season he's hitting just .215, but his walk rate (16.3) is a career best, he's hit 10 home runs in just 181 at-bats, and his OPS is a very respectable .777. The Yankees' team OPS, by comparison, is .695.
Willingham missed 41 games earlier in the year after getting hit by a pitch and fracturing his wrist, but he appears to be back to full strength.
