New York Yankees Third Base Situation Amongst the Worst in Baseball

The New York Yankees still have a glaring need at third base with Opening Day quickly approaching.

Feb 19, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third base Oswaldo Cabrera (95) fields the ball during spring training practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

There is no denying that the New York Yankees are one of the few legitimate World Series contenders in baseball.

Coming off their first American League pennant since 2009, the team is looking to break through in 2025 after a disappointing performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series in October.

General manager Brian Cashman did as good of a job as he could pivoting after losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets, putting an emphasis on pitching and defense. A calamity of errors and untimely performances on the mound ultimately doomed the team in October.

Ace Max Fried, closer Devin Williams, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and center fielder Cody Bellinger were all great additions. Jasson Dominguez has immense potential to be an impact performer in left field as well.

But, there is one glaring hole in the lineup that could undo all of the good work that was done in the offseason; third base.

It was organizational malpractice that the Yankees entered spring training comfortable with DJ LeMahieu being their starter at the hot corner. He was competing with Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza for the starting job, but all signs pointed to the veteran being the guy.

Opening Day didn’t even roll around before those plans were dashed as LeMahieu is dealing with yet another injury.

A calf ailment is going to sideline him for the foreseeable future as the team doesn’t have an exact timeline of when he will be returning.

That puts Cabrera in the driver’s seat for starts at third base, making his one of the worst situations in baseball in the opinion of Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.

In his rankings of starters at the hot corner, New York has been placed at No. 28. Only the Milwaukee Brewers with Oliver Dunn and the Washington Nationals with Jose Tena are ranked lower.

Going into a campaign with a need that prominent while having championship aspirations is hard to fathom.

Cabrera is best suited for a utilityman role off the bench, as making him an everyday player at third base takes away from his greatest strength, which is his defensive versatility.

He has been a well below-average performer at the plate the last two years.

Not finding better options at third base is something that could come back to haunt the Yankees during the year.

If they can find a middle infielder worth starting, New York at least has the option to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to third base until a long-term option emerges.

Chisholm going back to the hot corner is something manager Aaron Boone would prefer not to do, but he has to do what is best for the team to put them in the best position to win games.