Two hits last night raised Derek Jeter‘s batting average to .259, but the fact that a majority have been of the swinging bunt variety doesn’t convince me he is on the path to offensive health. You have to start thinking of different scenarios with Jeter, especially if he continues to play at a below league average level. What do the Yankees do with a Hall of Famer making over $15 million dollars the next couple of years? Is there any recent historical precedent?

Players like George Brett, Robin Yount, Rod Carew, and even Cal Ripken remained starters until they left the game. Wade Boggs also played a significant amount, but he was on a quest for 3,000 hits, and played the dual role of drawing card for an expansion team in Tampa. None were terrible towards the end, but they certainly were not as productive as their prime. They also weren’t playing a critical defensive position like shortstop.

Other great players like Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield, Mike Schmidt, and Jim Rice fell off the map pretty quickly. Schmidt and Rice decided to walk away from the game with Schmidt doing so midseason in 1989. Murray and Winfield hung on a couple of years at a severe compromised rate playing until their early forties. Of course, Rickey Henderson didn’t accept his decline and went to independent baseball route to prove everyone wrong.

So what will Jeter’s next four years look like? He’s not going to need the length of the contract to get his 3,000th hit as that should happen sometime this season. If he continues to produce a below league average bat, coupled with declining range and defense, how can you justify his presence in the lineup? Ripken was a third basemen by the end of his career. Winfield spent a good deal of his time as a DH, and even played a little first base. It’s hard to see where Jeter would fit into a Yankees lineup if not at shortstop. His offense indicates he is more than likely to be a bench player than a regular. What the Yankees could hope for is a similar ride into the sunset that San Diego had with Tony Gwynn, and what you see with Omar Vizquel in Chicago.

On August 6th, 1999 Gwynn collected his 3,000th hit. He would play another two seasons for the Padres, but mainly as a substitute and pinch hitter off the bench his final year. Although he couldn’t handle the everyday rigors of the game at age 40, Gwynn was a useful pinch hitter in 2001 hitting .324 in 112 plate appearances. To the very end he could hit.

Despite that, it’s hard to imagine that Gwynn would have been as productive in a larger sample. Playing the field every day, travel, and the general breaking down of a 40 year old body most certainly would have eaten into that production. Despite being the face of the Padres franchise for 19 seasons, he knew it was time to step aside and take a diminished role.

Omar Vizquel has been used as a veteran leader and mentor for the Giants, Texas, and White Sox. Of course, Vizquel can still play the field at a high level to be useful at the age of 43. The point is Jeter can play a similar role with the Yankees.

Perhaps a diminished role for Jeter will be just what he needs. He can still get 300 at bats, and the Yankees could start to plug in Eduardo Nunez. Use Jeter as the “bridge” to the next Yankees shortstop. Of course, this is provided they don’t go after Jose Reyes this offseason. That would change everything, and complicate an already difficult situation.

The biggest question is will Jeter do this willingly when it becomes apparent he can’t play every day? It certainly won’t happen before his 3,000th hit. There is a lot of baseball left this year for Jeter to prove to everyone he can still be a productive everyday shortstop. It’s only fair to note that this slump is not relegated to 2011, but actually started during the second half of last year when he hit .265 with only two homers. It’s apparent that Jeter is prideful, stubborn, and sensitive. Not an easy personality for Joe Girardi to handle.

Jeter is making a lot more than Vizquel or Gwynn, and he’s not at the point of no return like Murray, Winfield, or Schmidt. He is, however, at a point where the process makes you believe this is a scenario that is inevitable. Perhaps the only precedent is figuring out if the Yankees can have some sort of combination of what you see with Vizquel, and what Tony Gwynn did his final year. That might be the best case scenario for the rest of Jeter’s contract.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Chicago White Sox, Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, Omar Vizquel, San Diego Padres, Tony Gwynn