Buy, Sell or Stay: New York Yankees

Yesterday, I started my "Buy, Sell or Stay" series by saying that the Boston Red Sox didn't need to pick up another closer because Koji Uehara was working out just fine. Then, Uehara gives up four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim rally for a 9-7 victory in 11 innings. So, maybe the Red Sox should start thinking about acquiring yet another closer to go along with Uehara, Andrew Bailey and (when he's healthy again) Joel Hanrahan.

One team that is chasing the Red Sox in the American League East is (improbably) the New York Yankees. Let's take a look at what they have to offer, and whether they should make a deal.

Strengths: Pitching. Hiroki Kuroda (7-6, 2.77 ERA) and Andy Pettitte (6-6, 4.37 ERA) are aging, CC Sabathia (9-6, 4.06 ERA) isn't having a typical season for himself and Phil Hughes (4-7, 4.55 ERA) gives up too many home runs (14, although Sabathia has allowed 18). Yet, the Yanks rank 11th in all of baseball in earned run average (3.82). That's their strength, folks.

Weakness: Offense. Without Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Kevin Youkilis, the Yanks rank in the bottom third of the majors in team batting average (.242) and slugging percentage (.381). The good news is that Jeter and A-Rod are now playing in rehab games. The bad news is, Teixeira is done for the year.

Buy, sell or stay the course: Buy. If the Yanks are going to be serious about making the playoffs again, they have to do something about their offense. Jeter and A-Rod aren't going to magically make them World Series contenders, and no one knows if Youkilis will come back this year due to his back problems. It's time to make a splashy trade and get some offensive support for the pitching staff.