Brett Gardner could get a shot in the starting lineup

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has been resistant to use Brett Gardner in the starting lineup because he only has four at-bats in the majors (including one on Saturday) since his elbow injury in mid-April, but the team’s continued struggles on offense have them reconsidering matters.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was on the “The Michael Kay Show” today and said that Gardner is “a possibility” to be in the lineup when the ALCS continues in Detroit this week.

“He still might play a role in this thing,” Cashman said on ESPN New York 98.7 FM’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “You could very well see Gardner in this big outfield that Detroit has. The way our offense is, it is a possibility. He deserves consideration considering what is going on right now.”

Nick Swisher is just 4-for-26 (.154) with eight strikeouts during the postseason while Curtis Granderson is 3-for-26 (.115) with 14 strikeouts, so both players are at risk for being benched. If Girardi really wants to shake things up, he could sit them both and go with Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez in the outfield and Eric Chavez out of the DH spot, though the prospect of using the 40-year-old Ibanez in that spacious outfield is a little scary.