Rick Ankiel was reportedly designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals Thursday morning -- you can read all about it at Eye on Baseball -- and MLB.com's Peter Gammons tweeted that the outfielder would be a great fit for the New York Yankees.
As CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman wrote on Monday, the Yankees are looking at the outfield market more than pitching right now, especially in light of Brett Gardner's elbow injury setback.
The left-handed hitting Ankiel, who turns 33 today, is hitting .228/.282/.411 in 68 games this season, with five home runs and 15 RBI. His OPS against left-handed pitching is .435, while his OPS against right-handed pitching is .736. All five of his home runs have come against right-handed pitching, meaning he could be a platoon option off the bench for the Yankees or another team.
Ankiel signed a one-year, minor-league contract with the Nationals in February, and is earning $1.25 million in the major leagues.
