The contract is horrendous. He’ll likely become a burden on the roster and the Yankees’ spending plans. He’s clearly declining. He has a thing for overly-muscular women.

But the 2012 version of Arod is still an above-average hitter (wRC+ 121, OPS+ 113) and losing him for at least 6 weeks definitely hurts the team.

So what do the Yankees do?

First of all, thank the Lord that Eric Chavez is on the roster. He’s had a fantastic season (.276 /.331/.487) and has whacked right-handed pitching (.295/.353/.525). He’ll get most of the time in Arod’s absence, but Chavez might break a bone just getting out of bed, so there’s a need to add another player who can give him a rest.

In the short-term, Ramiro Pena was called up to take Arod’s place, but he can’t hit at all and is not the long-term solution.

There are some in-house options. Recent NoMaas interviewee Corban Joseph is the most deserving player of a call-up, as the 23-year old is having an outstanding season at AAA (.281/.379/.503, 142 wRC+) — might we add he’s been on a torrid streak since our interview (holla!).

Problem with CoJo is that he’s left-handed (with very divergent platoon splits) like Chavez, and he’s primarily a second-baseman that hasn’t played 3B since 2010. The Yankees have shown no real interest in trying him at other positions, and as he admitted to us, his defense is still a work in progress. We’d love to see him get a shot, just because he’s a great kid and deserves it based on his performance. Considering the Yankees’ needs, we don’t know how much utility he would serve though.

There’s other guys in Triple-A, who are right-handed and can play third base. There’s Brandon Laird and Kevin Russo, both of which have hit AAA lefties well this season (Laird: .296/.341/.504 – Russo: .385/.469/.469)

Cuban defector Ronnier Mustelier is on the DL (foot), but he’s hit like a beast since the Yankees plucked the soon-to-be 28-year old from the Communists.

There’s the recently-reactivated (was on the DL) error-machine Eduardo Nunez, who the organization loves for some odd reason.

And since this is New York, the trade speculation is underway with San Diego’s Chase Headley leading the pack. Headley is a fine player (hitting .268/.361/.423, .344 wOBA, 124 wRC+, 3.6 WAR). He’s also entering his prime years (age 28) and is arbitration-eligible for the next couple seasons.

Problem is that reportedly six teams are already negotiating for him, which means the cost will likely be high. Is it worth giving up valued prospects when Arod will be returning? Headley does offer versatility as he’s played OF in the past, although not very well.

It’s also worth noting that Headley is a switch-hitter, but he’s much better from the left-side (career vs RHP, 114 wRC+ vs. 98 wRC+ vs LHP). So he doesn’t fit the need for a right-handed bat to complement Chavez. Plus, if handed-ness isn’t a concern for the Yankees, then just call up Corban Joseph and there’s no cost.

We shall wait and see, friends.