Yankees Shortstops

The Yankees are attempting to repeat as AL East Champions in 2012.  As such, they have retained most of their players from last season.  One such area is at shortstop.

1.  Derek Jeter:  Jeter had a solid season last year, hitting .297 and recording his 3,000th career hit, which will probably lead to his induction into Cooperstown five years after his career ends.  His career is in decline though, and his numbers may take a hit in 2012.  He's no longer a big producer nor a spark plug at the top of the order and his defense - which has never been good if you believe in UZR and a number of other new stats - gets worse everyday it seems.  But with a huge contract and an apparent stranglehold over co-owners Hank and Hal Steinbrenner Jeter doesn't appear to going anywhere.

2.  Eduardo Nunez:  Nunez was all set to be the Yankees everyday DH until DH/OF Andruw Jones was re-signed.  Now he'll fall back into his more familiar role as a utility player.  A natural shortstop, he's a much better fielder than Jeter and can be a weapon on the base paths and a potential spark plug at the top of the order.  It looks like Nunez is going to be a star, but right now he'll be playing as one of the best utility men in the league.

3.  Ramiro Pena:  Pena is attempting to win a job on the Yankees bench as a utility player.  He did not fare well last season, which was spent at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the most part, and a September call-up saw him bat .100 in 40 at-bats.  It doesn't look good for him this season, as he'll be playing behind Jeter, Nunez, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Alex Rodriguez, and IF Brandon Laird.

4.  Doug Bernier:  Bernier is a career Minor Leaguer who spent last season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and who is well-liked in the organization.  He didn't perform very well at Scranton last season though, as he batted .237 in 291 at-bats as the team's utility player.  He really doesn't have much of a chance of winning a job at all, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him released at the end of Spring Training.

The Yankees look decent at shortstop.  Jeter is a bad fielder but he is able to play most of the games and can provide decent offense as a number seven or eight hitter, although he'll probably bat leadoff or second and hurt the team's offense.  Nunez is an excellent utility player and should probably be playing everyday somewhere and hitting in the two hole behind LF Brett Gardner.  Pena is good for depth at Scranton if someone gets injured or if Nunez is ineffective.  Bernier is a nice guy to take a look at in Spring Training, but he really doesn't have a place in the organization.