The Yankees might have to do something at catcher at the trade deadline. Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman professes his faith in Russell Martin, but it’s getting close to a time where he might want to re-think that. Martin has played in 9 games so far in July and he is 4 for 30 (.133 avg, .502 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 72 games overall this year and he is 40 for 220 (.182 avg, .657 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 23 RBIs and 1 stolen base. 30-year old Chris Stewart isn’t the answer either as he is purely a backup. He has played in 31 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 23 of 89 (.258 avg, .580 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers and 11 RBIs.

The New York Yankees are getting next to nothing offensively out of their catchers so far this year. 29-year old Russell Martin got a nice 1-year, $7.5 million dollar deal last winter and he looks like he’s going through the motions while cashing his big checks. Martin has played in 43 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 24 for 126 (.190 avg, .671 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Backup catcher Chris Stewart was traded for because he is a good gloveman. Stewart has played in 15 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .494 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 6 RBIs. The Yankees need these guys to start hitting for a batting average over their weight (I think Stewart already is…but barely).

32-year old switch-hitting 1B Mark Teixeira is off to a very, very slow start this year for the Yankees. He has played in 41 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 35 for 155 (.226 avg, .671 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Joe Girardi tried batting Teixeira lower in the batting order to take some pressure off of him, but it hasn’t worked. The Yankees must remain patient with Teixeira as he started slowly last season too and he finished up with 39 homers and 111 RBIs in 2011.

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have been batting #4 and #5 in the lineup and they aren’t coming through so far. They are a combined 1 for 21 (.048 avg) so far in this series with 1 run scored, 1 double, 2 RBIs and 7 whiffs! It is going to be incredibly hard to come back and beat the Tigers in this series unless at least one of these guys starts to hit a little bit.

40-year old switch-hitting DH/C Jorge Posada is likely running out of time as a member of the New York Yankees. His contract is up at the end of the 2011 season and I just can’t see the Yankees bringing him back based on his lack of performance this year. Posada has played in 105 games for the Yankees this year and he is 77 for 320 (.241 avg, .724 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 13 homers and 40 RBIs. He has now played in 1,819 games in his 17 years with the Yankees and he is 1,660 of 6,068 (.274 avg, .849 OPS) with 899 runs scored, 274 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Posada isn’t a lock to be on the post-season roster for the Yankees either, so fans should get out to the Stadium and say goodbye to him this month. He was one of the better catchers in Yankees’ history.

30-year old switch hitting RF Nick Swisher is having a rough time for the Yankees this year. He has played in 63 games for the Yankees this year and he is 49 for 214 (.229 avg, .728 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 6 homers, 28 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Swisher was very productive in his first two years with the Yankees, so his struggles come as a little bit of a surprise. In his first two years with the Yankees, Swisher played in 300 games and he was 287 for 1,064 (.270 avg) with 175 runs scored, 58 homers, 171 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Yankees don’t have many alternatives to Swisher in RF, so they need him to get his act together soon.

36-year old righty swinging shortstop Derek Jeter is starting to show his age at the plate. In his last 10 games, Jeter is 10 for 43 (.233 avg, .615 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Jeter has now played in 61 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 67 for 259 (.259 avg, .648 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Jeter is now only seven hits shy of 3,000 for his career, which would make him the first Yankees’ player to eclipse that mark with the club.

35-year old righty swinging 3B Alex Rodriguez has been awful so far in May. He has played in 15 games for the Yankees so far this month and he is 11 for 59 (.186 avg, .492 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. A-Rod has also whiffed 17 times this month as pitchers are coming right after him this month. Rodriguez has now played in 35 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 31 for 128 (.242 avg, .781 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 6 homers, 22 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Yanks need A-Rod to get his act together because it will be hard to win with him slumping.

39-year old lefty swinging DH Jorge Posada asked out of the lineup last night before the Yankees-Red Sox game which the Red Sox won 6-0. Depending on what you believe could be true, he either asked out because of a stiff back, to clear his head or because he was insulted to be batting 9th. The only acceptable answer would be a stiff back, but, if that were the case: Why did he wait so long to tell Joe Girardi? I think something else is going on here. I think he wants to quit but he doesn’t want to give up his $13 million dollar contract. Posada is only 4 for 25 (.160 avg) in his last 8 games and he has 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Posada has now played in 32 games this year and he is 18 for 109 (.165 avg, .621 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers, 15 RBIs and 30 whiffs. Posada has played in 1,746 games in his 17 years with the Yankees and he is 1,601 of 5,857 (.273 avg, .852 OPS) with 878 runs scored, 267 homers, 1,036 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Posada is #10 in games played (1,746) in Yankees’ history. He is also #7 in doubles (367), #8 in homers (267) and he is #8 in walks (912) in Yankees’ history. If the Yankees decide to ditch or bench Posada they likely have a couple of options. One, they could go with veteran Andruw Jones at DH. Jones has played in 14 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 8 for 35 (.229 avg, .613 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has also whiffed 11 times already this year. Jones would provide the Yankees with power but little else. The other option is to bring up 21-year old righty swinging Miguel Montero. He is the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Montero has played in 29 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 40 for 119 (.336 avg, .802 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 409 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 489 for 1,551 (.315 avg, .876 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 60 homers, 263 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Despite Posada’s legacy with the Yankees, he needs to really step up now when given a chance or they are going to cut him loose.

39-year old switch-hitting Jorge Posada started this season out pretty hot, for about a week. Since then, he has been pathetic. Posada has played in 22 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 10 for 75 (.133 avg, .622 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 homers and 12 RBIs. Could Posada just be the latest of veteran players who hitter better when they play the field? That is a good question, but he’s blocked at catcher by Russell Martin and he’s not going to sit down any time soon. If he doesn’t start to hitter better soon, the Yankees might turn to one of their veterans bats off the bench. 33-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Eric Chavez has played in 16 games for the Yankees in which he is 9 for 31 (.290 avg, .760 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs. He is showing outstanding plate discipline so far this year as he has walked 6 times while only whiffing 3 times. 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Andruw Jones has played in 10 games for the Yankees this year and he is 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .759 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. I could see Jones & Chavez platooning at DH if Posada doesn’t get his bat going soon.