Yankees Editorial: Alex Rodriguez To Never Play the Field Again?

Alex Rodriguez’ days on the defensive side of the diamond appear to be over, and this time for good.

Stephen Drew has officially taken over as the team’s backup third baseman behind Chase Headley, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com on Tuesday night.

A-Rod has been dealing with general soreness in his left hamstring, but that’s not the reason for this sudden roster change.

Instead, Girardi said the Yankees feel more comfortable keeping Rodriguez in the designated hitter slot for the duration of the season. This sounds very similar to the way in which the team handled Jorge Posada a few years back, which you can read about (here). Non-the-less, A-Rod would still be available to play third base in case of an emergency situation, Girardi said.

This move shouldn’t come as a shock by any means. A-Rod had appeared in just three games this season at the hot corner, two of which were starts and the other as a late inning substitution after he pinch-hit earlier in the inning. Aside from the one-game experiment to let him play first base, the rest of his work this season came at DH.

According to Kuty, Stephen Drew was fielding grounders at third base prior to Tuesday’s game in Tampa for the first time in his career. While he won’t make many starts at third, I’m intrigued to see how he does. The only time he’s spent on the left side on the infield has been as a shortstop before moving over to second base in the middle of 2014. Drew is a defensive wiz, and he should be more than capable of providing the Yankees with a solid backup option at third.

"“I’m just going to do whatever Joe asks to help the team win,” Drew said."

It’s possible the Yankees are trying to make more room for Jose Pirela to be the teams every day second baseman, and it’s also possible that this move is an attempt to keep A-Rod’s bat in the lineup on a regular basis. While DH doesn’t really come with much wear and tear, it does take a toll on 39-year old ball players. Keeping A-Rod off the field might benefit his rest and increase his availability to bat every-day.

What do you think of this Yankees fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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