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Who could replace Alex Rodriguez on the New York Yankees' roster?

Five who might fit the bill if A-Rod's hamstring injury requires a DL stint

05/04/2016 11:47 AM ET

By Lou DiPietro

Alex Rodriguez is undergoing an MRI Wednesday morning to determine the extent of his hamstring injury.(AP)

New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez left Tuesday's game in Baltimore after his at-bat in the fifth inning, and was headed for an MRI Wednesday morning for what manager Joe Girardi termed after the game as a hamstring issue.

The MRI was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and the Yankees will hopefully know A-Rod's fate by early afternoon, but as Girardi admitted that the issue was "worrisome" following Tuesday's game, the team may have already begun investigating its options if the injury turns out to be severe enough to send Rodriguez to the disabled list.

If that happens, who would the Yankees call up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre? Right now, there are only four healthy position players on the 40-man roster who aren't in pinstripes, and as the Yankees would likely want to replace A-Rod's righty bat with another, outfielders Slade Heathcott and Ben Gamel might be out of contention.

The Yankees do at least have plenty of 40-man wiggle room, so if the replacement does need to be right-handed, one the five guys below may be the best bets to fit the bill.

ROB REFSNYDER
Although it was surely for reasons not related to A-Rod, Refsnyder started in right field for the RailRiders on Tuesday night, his first start at his college position since July 29, 2014. He played well defensively, including a nice grab on a sixth-inning liner, and at the dish, he went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight games, a stretch in which he is now hitting .333 (11-for-33).

If the Yankees feel Refsnyder is more than functional in the outfield, he could fit as a substitute for as many as seven players on the major-league club if they decide to rotate the DH in A-Rod's absence. Theoretically, Ref could spell three by playing second (to allow Starlin Castro a half-day off) or third (if Chase Headley takes a turn as DH or slides to first if Mark Teixeira gets that nod), and he'd give Joe Girardi an extra spare outfielder beyond Dustin Ackley if one of the starters and/or Aaron Hicks gets a DH day, avoiding a possible situation where the team might have to give up the DH if an issue arises.

GARY SANCHEZ
The Yankees ideally want Sanchez to play every day, but if he could come up and play, say, four days a week for the time being, would that be enough? Sanchez has gotten hot after a slow offensive start - he's hitting .295 with two homers, nine RBI, and six doubles over his last 10 games - and he could also give Girardi some extra flexibility; Sanchez could DH of course, but carrying three catchers and letting the youngster get his feet wet behind the major-league dish could allow the skipper to deploy Brian McCann as his DH without worry, or even put McCann at first to give Mark Teixeira a half-day off, a scenario that might work optimally against a lefty whom McCann hits well.

NICK SWISHER
Moving beyond the 40-man roster we get to Swisher, who is hitting .306 in Triple-A and has had Yankees fans clamoring for him to return to the Bronx ever since he signed his minor-league deal. This could be the chance, because as it stands, the two likeliest candidates to see a majority of the DH duties on a Yankees team without Alex Rodriguez would be Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira, who just happen to play the two positions Swisher fits into defensively - and as a switch-hitter, Swish could be deployed in either spot in any situation regardless of the pitching matchup.

CHRIS PARMELEE
The Yankees signed Parmelee in February to ostensibly replace Greg Bird as the Yankees' Triple-A first baseman, but like Swisher, he can also play right field. Parmelee is hitting .233 so far with the RailRiders, but he fits the same criteria as Swisher, only without the ability to bat left-handed.

CESAR PUELLO
An aside before we get to Puello: his inclusion obviously means Aaron Judge is not on this list; there are many pros and cons for a Judge call-up, but the simplest reason we omitted him is this: Judge could (should?) be the call if someone were lost for the season and he was likely to stay in MLB once called up, but in this hopefully short-term scenario, the Yankees might choose to prioritize everyday at-bats for Aaron Hicks and continue to let Judge develop in Triple-A.

And so, a Puello recall would mean the Yankees could deploy Carlos Beltran as the everyday DH and Hicks as the everyday right fielder, with Puello slotting into Hicks' role as the fourth outfielder and platoon starter for one of the lefties when the team faces a southpaw. Puello impressed the Yankees with a strong spring and is hitting .333 after going 1-for-4 Tuesday, and he might be the best fit for someone who wouldn't play every day.