WHAT THE YANKS ARE WILLING TO DO TO GET RID OF ELLSBURY

The Yankees are still determined to try and get rid of Jacoby Ellsbury, but are they desperate enough to do what it takes?

Kathy Willens/AP

According to Jon Heyman HERE the Yankees are willing to eat at least half of contract. Keyword here appears to be "at least" and even if that is just a starting point for negotiations it's not enough. The Yankees are having a hard time finding anyone that is interested and the clock is ticking....

The slow moving market is making a tough challenge even harder. There are still a lot of free agents out there, namely some big name outfielders like J.D. Martinez and Lorenzo Cain who are younger and don't have the declining track record that Ellsbury does. It's not hard to see why the Yankees can't find that obvious trade partner.

Ellsbury has $68.5 millon left on his contract that ends in 2020, even if a team does bite and take him for half that is still $11.5 million a year he is owed. If I am any other major league team I can see the current talent in the free agent market, recognize it is better than Ellsbury, not much more expensive and I get more for my money. Jay Bruce just signed for three years and $39 million. I'd rather sign and pay him, the younger and better player.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The Yankees are fighting an uphill battle in a slow moving market. There are other "Ellsbury like" players out there like Heyman said. Other free agent outfielders Carlos Gomez, Jon Jay and Jarrod Dyson offer teams the same speed element and they are still waiting for a job. Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in 4 weeks and until the market starts to move, Ellsbury will sit stale on the roster.

If I am the Yankees and a team does come around willing to make a deal I may sure to have the right game plan. The Yankees should go in and say they will pay half, but be ready to pay more. It would be nice if half got the trade done but it isn't likely. If the Yankees want to move Ellsbury the price tag will likely be more than they want to pay. At this point, the Yankees need to decide if they pay a little more and get him off the bench....or do they pay for him to be a seat warmer?

I know it's not my money so it's easy to say I'd pay more to get rid of him but I hate the idea of paying him a bunch of money to sit in the dugout. It's a bad contract that the Yankees and fans need to move on from. His roster spot is too valuable to just waste away.

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj