The Yankees have released 36-year old lefty swinging 1B Russell Branyan. Branyan hasn’t played since July 6th due to back problems. Branyan played in 36 games in A+AAA-ball for the Yankees this year and he was 38 of 122 (.311 avg, 1.000 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 12 homers and 40 RBIs. It’s too bad that Branyan couldn’t stay healthy as few players have more raw power than he does. In his 14 years as a professional baseball player he has ripped 416 homers (194 in the majors and 222 in the minors).