Friday, January 20, 2012

TGS NY: Alex Rodriguez preparing to play third

“I think the vision for us as a team is now ... you want the DH spot to be one that’s kind of a revolving door,” he said in an interview with ESPNdeportes’ Alvaro Morales. “I think a lot of us at some point or another, in such a long season, are going occupy that spot.

“But for me, I’m really excited about playing third base.”

Rodriguez probably had his best defensive season at 3B in 2011, at least if you believe the various fielding metrics.  The question is whether or not he can stay healthy all year if he’s playing 3B full-time.  It seems to me that hip and knee injuries aren’t the kind of thing that will be helped by the lateral movement involved in playing 3B, but then again they don’t seem to be the kind of thing that can be avoided by DHing, since he’ll be putting plenty of stress on both in the batter’s box.

The Yankees should plan to get 450 PA from Rodriguez at best.  That means they need a viable backup who can play 3B full-time for a month or two if necessary.  I suppose that could be Eduardo Nunez if he can stop playing heinous defense, but I’m not sure how likely that is.  I don’t think Eric Chavez is the guy, because he’s not really a good bet to stay healthy and I don’t even know if he’s got any offense left in him.  If Rodriguez can play more than that, great.  But they shouldn’t plan around him playing 150 games in 2012.

With the news that Carlos Pena is now off the market, the Yankees’ options for DH look a bit thinner, so I’m hoping they do something soon.  I’m still hoping for Wilson Betemit, but I’d be surprised if that’s what they do.

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