You knew Yankees rumors were going to begin to obsess over who the heir apparent will be to soon-to-be first ballot NY Yankees Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter--you perhaps weren't expecting the rumors to begin a month-and-a-half before Derek Jeter even plays game one of his farewell season.
Major news outlets such as Sports Illustrated, the New York Post, and Fox Sports have already been sizing up potential candidates to replace NY Yankees captain Derek Jeter, and the consensus of the rumors is placing the Colorado Rockies' Troy Tulowitski, Baltimore Orioles' JJ Hardy, Los Angeles Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez, and the Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Reyes as the four most likely targets.
In the case of Troy Tulowitski, there is still over $100 million due to the Colorado Rockies' young superstar through 2020--however, the New York Yankees have a penchant for making rumors into reality through savvy trades and the ability to take on the entirety of such giant contracts.
However, if the NY Yankees decide to pull the purse-strings a little bit (which would scare them off of Jose Reyes' $100 mil + contract that runs through 2017), Baltimore's JJ Hardy could emerge as the logical choice.
Hardy is entering the last year of a 3-year, $22.5 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, and despite Dan Duquette's recent overtures toward attempting to lock up the productive shortstop long-term, it is very well possible that Hardy and his agent could see the bright lights (and big payday) of New York as incentive to test the market.