Third Base Has Become a Clearer Picture for New York Yankees After Recent Injury

With the start of the regular season getting closer for the New York Yankees, some final roster spots are still up for grabs.

Unfortunately, injuries have become the main storyline for the team this spring and the depth of the Yankees is going to be tested right out of the gate.

Recently, it was announced that two key players on New York will be starting the season on the injured list with both Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil out for the foreseeable future.

However, another injury that also happened was to potential starting third baseman, DJ LeMahieu. Third base has been a hot topic this offseason for the Yankees and the situation didn’t get any better with the calf injury for the former All-Star.

While relying on the veteran infielder wasn’t a good idea, New York will seemingly be without him for an extended period of time as well.

Now, third base will likely only be talked about more, as LeMahieu figured to be either the starter or at least potentially in some sort of platoon.

Brendan Kuty of The Athletic recently spoke about the third base situation for the Yankees, which with the injury to LeMahieu has become a lot clearer.  

With the former All-Star injured, the choices are down to Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. Neither option is great, but until the team elects to spend the money to bring someone in, these are the two most logical options.

More than likely, there is going to be some sort of platoon if both make the Opening Day roster. In regard to Peraza, his status with the team could potentially be up in the air. Since the right-hander is out of minor league options, he would have to clear waivers to remain on the team if they wanted to send him down.

From an offensive standpoint, neither are going to make much of an impact in all likelihood for the Yankees. Cabrera has slashed .247/.296/.365 in his career, and Peraza is even worse at .216/.297/.315.

Peraza is considered to be a very strong defender in the infield, but Cabrera has the slight edge offensively.

With neither option being ideal as of now, both making the roster and being used in a platoon makes a lot of sense.

It has always felt like an external option was going to be needed at third base, and that is even more true with LeMahieu once again getting injured.

However, as of now, what the position is going to look like on Opening Day has at least become clearer.

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