36-year old righty swinging Alex Rodriguez is going to be the starting 3B for the Yankees again in 2012, but they are going to limit his P.T. at the hot corner in an effort to keep him healthy. He will likely DH on his days off from 3B. A-Rod played in 99 games for the Yankees last year and he was 103 of 373 (.276 avg, .823 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 16 homers, 62 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,127 games in his first 8 years with the Yankees and he is 1,240 of 4,210 (.295 avg, .941 OPS) with 815 runs scored, 284 homers, 903 RBIs and 128 stolen bases. Rodriguez has now played in 2,402 games in his first 18 years in the majors and he is 2,775 of 9,199 (.302 avg, .953 OPS) with 1,824 runs scored, 629 homers, 1,893 RBIs and 305 stolen bases. Rodriguez played in 89 games at 3B for the Yankees last year and he had 6 errors there while showing good range.

34-year old lefty swinging Eric Chavez will be the top backup at 3B for A-Rod in 2012. Chavez played in 58 games for the Yankees last year and he was 42 of 160 (.263 avg, .676 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 26 RBIs. He has now played in 1,378 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,318 of 4,943 (.267 avg, .817 OPS) with 746 runs scored, 232 homers, 813 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. Chavez didn’t have any errors in 42 games at 3B for the Yankees last year while showing average range. It was smart of the Yankees to bring back Chavez for 2012.

32-year old righty swinging Bill Hall could also get some time at 3B if the makes the team this spring. Hall played in 62 games for the Giants & Astros last year and he was 39 of 185 (.211 avg, .575 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,047 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 825 of 3,325 (.248 avg, .743 OPS) with 448 runs scored, 124 homers, 439 RBIs and 62 stolen bases. Hall didn’t play in any games at 3B last year.

24-year old Eduardo Nunez had a hard time defensively trying to play 3B last year for the Yankees. He played in 40 games for the Yankees at 3B last year and he had 7 errors while showing off poor range. Look for his P.T. to be cut at 3B in 2012.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: A

No one plays harder than 37-year old righty swinging shortstop Derek Jeter, but he’s starting to slow down a bit. Jeter played in 131 games for the Yankees last year and he was 162 of 546 (.297 avg, .743 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 6 homers, 61 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He has now played in 2,426 games in his first 17 years with the Yankees and he is 3,088 of 9,868 (.313 avg, .832 OPS) with 1,769 runs scored, 240 homers, 1,196 RBIs and 339 stolen bases. Jeter had 12 errors in 122 games at shortstop last year for the Yankees but he showed pretty awful range there. Jeter might get a little more time at DH than he did last year as his defense is starting to falter.

24-year old righty swinging Eduardo Nunez is Derek Jeter’s likely successor at SS in the near future. Nunez played in 112 game for the Yankees last year and he was 82 for 309 (.265 avg, .698 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 5 homers, 30 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He has now played in 142 games in his first two years with the Yankees and he is 96 for 359 (.267 avg, .696 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 6 homers, 37 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Nunez had 14 errors in 50 games at SS for the Yankees last year while showing pretty awful range. The Yankees have faith that Nunez can improve defensively as they resisted trading him last July, despite getting a lot of calls about him.

26-year old switch-hitting Ramiro Pena had a rough time in 2011. He played in 23 games for the Yankees last year and he was 4 for 40 (.100 avg, .334 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Pena has now played in 177 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 72 for 309 (.233 avg, .554 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He only played in 4 games at SS last year for the Yankees and he made 2 errors while showing good range. Pena will likely start 2012 in AAA and have to earn his way back to the Bronx.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: B

29-year old lefty swinging Robinson Cano is the best all-around 2B on the Planet Earth right now. Cano played in 159 games for the Yankees last year and he was 188 of 623 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 28 homers, 118 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,053 games in his first 7 years with the Yankees and he is 1,263 of 4,104 (.308 avg, .843 OPS) with 613 runs scored, 144 homers, 621 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Cano made 10 errors in 157 games at 2B for the Yankees while showing outstanding range. Cano is going to be a serious contender for the MVP Award in the American League in 2012 as long as he can stay healthy.

32-year old Bill Hall, 24-year old Eduardo Nunez and 26-year old Ramiro Pena will be Cano’s backups in 2012. Hall played in 51 games at 2B last year and he had 6 errors there while showing below average range. Eduardo Nunez played in 16 error-free games for the Yankees at 2B last year while showing below average range. Ramiro Pena played in 7 error-free games at 2B last year while showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2012: A+

31-year old switch-hitting 1B Mark Teixeira played in 156 games for the Yankees last year and he was 146 for 589 (.248 avg, .835 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 39 homers, 111 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Teixeira has now played in 470 games in his first three years with the Yankees and he is 478 for 1,799 (.266 avg, .877 OPS) with 306 runs scored, 111 homers, 341 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has played in 1,374 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,467 of 5,213 (.281 avg, .904 OPS) with 872 runs scored, 314 homers, 1,017 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. The Yankees would like Teixeira to hit for a higher average in 2012 but that’s nitpicking a little bit as he is good for 35-40 homers and 100+ RBIs this year as long as he can stay healthy. Teixeira is also a really solid defensive 1B as he has nice range and he only had 4 errors in 147 games at 1B for the Yankees last year.

36-year old lefty swinging Russell Branyan will try to win a job with the Yankees this spring. He played in 68 games for the D-Backs and Angels last year in which he was 25 for 127 (.197 avg, .665 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers, 14 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Branyan has now played in 1,059 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 682 for 2,934 (.232 avg, .814 OPS) with 405 runs scored, 194 homers, 467 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Branyan is a all or nothing hitter, but he still would hit a lot of homers for the Yankees if he got to play fairly regularly. The only way that might happen is if Mark Teixeira got injured. Branyan played in 25 games at 1B last year and he made 1 error while showing about average range.

Switch-hitting Nick Swisher could come in from RF to play 1B if the need arises. He played in 11 error-free games at 1B for the Yankees while showing decent range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2012: A

The Yankees are in good shape behind the plate in 2012. 29-year old righty swinging Russell Martin will be the starter behind the plate for the Yankees in 2012. He played in 125 games for the Yankees last year and he was 99 for 417 (.237 avg, .732 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 18 homers, 65 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Martin has now played in 792 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 737 for 2,761 (.267 avg, .757 OPS) with 404 runs scored, 72 homers, 365 RBIs and 74 stolen bases. Martin’s glove work isn’t his best asset. He played in 125 games behind the plate for the Yankees last year and he had 10 errors and 4 passed balls. Martin threw out 35 of 135 (25.9%) base stealers last year and Yankees’ pitchers had a 3.70 ERA with him behind the plate.

25-year old righty swinging Francisco Cervelli will be the backup catcher in 2012 for the Yankees. He played in 43 games for the Yankees last year and he was 33 for 124 (.266 avg, .719 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers, 22 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Cervelli has now played in 181 games in his first four years with the Yankees and he is 133 of 489 (.272 avg, .692 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 5 homers, 71 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Cervelli’s hustle is one of the big reasons why he has been the backup for the last couple of years. Cervelli played in 41 games behind the plate for the Yankees last year and he had 6 errors and 3 passed balls. He threw out only 4 of 28 (14.3%) base stealers last year but Yankees’ pitchers had a 3.50 ERA with him behind the plate. Despite all of the warts in his game, Cervelli is still a decent backup.

23-year old righty swinging Austin Romine is likely the Yankees’ catcher of the future. He comes into this season as the Yankees’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 9 games for the Yankees last year and he was 3 for 19 (.158 avg, .358 OPS) with 2 runs scored. It was his first taste of the majors. Romine also played in 89 games in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 98 for 351 (.279 avg, .710 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Romine only played in 8 games behind the plate for the Yankees last year and he had 1 error but no passed balls. He threw out 1 of 6 (16.7%) base stealers and Yankees’ pitchers had a 4.26 ERA with him behind the plate. Romine has a bright future for the Yankees.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: B