Yankees Trade Rumors: Shane Victorino on New York's Radar?

The Yankees have been hit with multiple injuries of late, and could be looking to make a deal before the trade deadline.

New York has a fairly comfortable lead in the American League East. At 48-30, they lead Baltimore by six games, followed by Boston at six and a half. With both Tampa Bay and Toronto lurking with above .500 records, the Yankees could make a move to sure up their roster.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees could be in play for Shane Victorino. The Phillies outfielder is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. Philadelphia won't offer Victorino the five-year contract that he wants.

The Phillies are having one of the more disappointing seasons of any team in the major leagues. Philadelphia is 36-45 and 11 games behind Washington in the NL East. They already traded Jim Thome to the Orioles and will likely be sellers this summer.

A majority of the Yankees injuries have come to their pitching staff. Andy Pettitte is set to miss approximately two months with a fractured left fibula and C.C. Sabathia will miss his next few starts with a strained groin. Mariano Rivera went down for the entire season with a torn ACL.

The injuries, however, have yet to hurt New York. They are still in the top 10 in team earned run average at 3.70 on the year. The Yankees pitching has actually carried them on their most recent winning streak. The Bronx Bombers are 21-7 in their last 28 games.

It's been the Yankees hitting that has failed them on numerous occasions this season.

New York doesn't have a lot of trouble putting up runs. They're sixth in the MLB with 373 total runs scored.

The Yankees biggest problem has been their inability to hit in the clutch. They lead the majors with 124 home runs, but have had trouble scoring on regular base hits.

Adding Victorino could help the Yankees manufacture some more runs. Brett Gardner has been injured since mid-April, and the team's lineup is basically filled with home run hitters. Gardner hopes to return by the end of the month, but he has already suffered two setbacks while on the disabled list.

The Yankees were bounced from the first round of the 2011 playoffs because they were unable to get enough hits with men on base. This season, the Yankees are 28th with just a .225 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Victorino is batting .277 with RISP since 2009, which is above the league average. New York might be willing to part with a few prospects to improve their chances of winning a World Series this year.

Victorino is batting .254, with eight home runs, 36 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 2012. The Dodgers and Reds could also be in the running for the outfielder.