Yankees Third Basemen

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

1.  Alex Rodriguez:  Last year was a lost season for A-Rod, as he only got 373 at-bats due to injury.  He still figures to get most of the playing time at third base, but he's also penciled in for major time at DH at present, with pundits saying possibly as many 50 starts at DH in order.  A-Rod is somewhat resistant to the move, but realizes it would allow him more at-bats and hopefully would give him a cleaner bill of health.  The Yankees are hoping that A-Rod can stay healthy next season and give them 30-plus homers and - gasp - as many as 160 runs batted in.

2.  Eduardo Nunez:  Nunez was all set to be the everyday DH until DH Andruw Jones was re-signed.  Now Nunez will slip back into his more familiar utility player role.  And that role worked well for him last season, as he got 309 at-bats and batted .265 with 22 stolen bases.  He should see considerable time at third this season, with A-Rod slated to get as many as 50 starts at DH.

3.  Brandon Laird:  Laird is a top prospect with a ton of power who is ready to take the next step to the Majors.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any place for him to play.  With that being said, Laird could be traded in Spring Training for a left-handed bat or packaged in a deal with disgruntled RHP A. J. Burnett.  If he isn't traded by Opening Day, Laird would be an interesting player to have on the block at the deadline.  And that might happen because a straight-up trade for Laird might not yield much in return right now.  He batted .190 in 21 at-bats in September for the Yankees last season.

4.  Ramiro Pena:  Pena is a former utility player with the Yankees who is trying to get back into the Majors.  The problem with that is that he's currently behind Nunez and on par with several other players.  Pena probably doesn't stand much of a chance of making the Yankees team this year, as he only batted .100 in 40 at-bats in September last season, although he's a good insurance policy to have at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees don't look particularly good at third base.  A-Rod's health is a question mark, and as always so is his potential use of performance-enhancing drugs and his off-field behavior and distractions.  Nunez looks like he's going to be a star and he's one of the best utility players in the Majors at present.  Laird is a big prospect but he has no place on the Major League roster right now.  Pena is a good insurance policy behind Nunez and could serve as a utility player on many Major League teams, but that's about it.