39-year old switch hitting Jorge Posada will likely be hanging up the shin guards in 2011 and concentrate on being the full time DH. Posada played in 120 games for the Yankees last season and he was 95 of 383 (.248 avg, .811 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Posada is a career .275 hitter with a .856 OPS in his first 16 years with the Yankees so I look for his bat to rebound in 2011. Posada should be healthy enough to play in 140 or so games in 2011 for the Yankees. If that happens you can expect 20-25 homers and 90-100 RBIs in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE YANKEES DH IN 2011: B

35-year old righty swinging 3B Alex Rodriguez is still a very productive hitter for the Yankees. He played in 137 games for the Yankees last season and he was 141 of 522 (.270 avg, .847 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 30 homers, 125 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. In A-Rod’s 7 seasons with the Yankees, he is averaging 106.9 runs scored, 38.3 homers, 120.1 RBIs and 17.7 stolen bases per year. A-Rod’s batting average and OPS took a dive last season but 2010 was his 13th season in a row with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs. Rodriguez’ defense seems to be improving as he made 7 errors in 124 games at 3B for the Yankees while showing average range. Rodriguez is still a good offensive player and he should have another big year in the middle of the Yankees’ lineup in 2011.

33-year old lefty swinging Eric Chavez might make the Yankees as A-Rod’s backup in 2011. Chavez played in 33 games for the A’s last season and he was 26 of 111 (.234 avg, .610 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. From 2000-2006, Chavez averaged 90.0 runs scored, 29.5 homers and 98.0 RBIs per season when has was one of the best 3B in all of baseball. Back problems have hurt him the last four years, so it’s not known how much gas he has left in the tank.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE YANKEES 3B IN 2011: A

36-year old righty swinging shortstop Derek Jeter had the worst season of his major league career in 2010. He played in 157 games for the Yankees last season and he was 179 of 663 (.270 avg, .710 OPS) with 111 runs scored, 10 homers, 67 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. A lot of shortstops would be happy with the numbers that Derek Jeter put up but it was a huge dropoff for him as he was often overpowered by fastballs he used to line to RF for basehits. Jeter will go over 3,000 hits as a New York Yankee this year (he has 2,926) as long as he can stay healthy. He has a career batting average of .314 with a .837 OPS in his first 16 years in the majors, so I have to think that he’s going to bounce back in 2011. Jeter only had 6 errors last season in 151 games but he showed awful range so it amazes me that he won a Gold Glove simply on reputation. The Yankees already know that Jeter probably won’t be able to handle shortstop defensively much longer.

23-year old righty swinging Eduardo Nunez appears to be the heir apparent to Derek Jeter at SS. Nunez played in 30 games for the Yankees last season and he was 14 of 50 (.280 avg, .681 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He also played in 118 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 134 of 464 (.289 avg, .721 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 4 homers, 50 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Nunez didn’t make any errors in 11 games at SS for the Yankees last season while showing excellent range.

25-year old switch hitting Ramiro Pena really regressed with a bat in his hands last season for the Yanks. Pena played in 85 games for the Yankees last season and he was 35 of 154 (.227 avg, .504 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 0 homers, 18 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Pena played in 69 games in 2009 for the Yankees and he hit .287 with a .699 OPS. So the question that will be answered this spring is if Pena is the hitter he was in 2009, 2010 or something in the middle. Pena played in 23 games at SS for the Yankees last season and he made 1 error while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE YANKEES SS IN 2011: B

The Yankees have signed 26-year old righty reliever Fernando Hernandez to a minor league deal. He pitched in 45 games (4 starts) in AAA-ball last season for the A’s and he was 5-6 with 4 saves, a 4.77 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His only major league experience came back in 2008 with the A’s. He pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the A’s in 2008 and he was 1-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Hernandez has a great arm so maybe the Yankees will be able to coach him up. I like this pickup for the Bronx Bombers.

28-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano finished 3rd in the A.L. MVP Voting last season behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. He played in 160 games for the Yankees last season and he was 200 of 626 (.319 avg, .914 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 29 homers, 109 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Cano has a great spot to hit in right behind A-Rod and Yankee Stadium favors Cano’s power swing. Add to that the fact that he has a sweet stroke which could eventually win him a batting title in the near future and you have to think he’s going to have a HUGE 2011 season. Cano never gets credit for his D but he’s really good with a mitt on his hand. He only made 3 errors in 158 games at 2B for the Yankees last season while showing good range.

35-year old righty swinging Ronnie Belliard probably is first in line behind Cano due to his experience. Belliard played in 82 games for the Dodgers lat season and he was 35 of 162 (.216 avg, .622 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He’s a much better hitter than he showed last season as he has a .273 career batting average with a .753 OPS in 1,484 major league games. Belliard only made 1 error in 20 games at 2B for the Dodgers last season while showing outstanding range. He plays a very deep 2B with good results.

23-year old righty swinging Eduardo Nunez and 25-year old switch hitting Ramiro Pena will battle Belliard for the right to back up Cano. Pena made 1 error in 8 games at 2B for the Yanks last season while showing outstanding range. Nunez didn’t make any errors in the 1 game he played at 2B last year. If the Yankees want Nunez to play everyday, he will have to do so in AAA as he will likely be Derek Jeter’s successor at shortstop.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE YANKEES 2B IN 2011: A+++++++++++++