For established big leaguers, spring training is a time of leisure, preparation and reacclimation. February and March are all about getting reacquainted with the sport’s rhythms and routines while avoiding injury at all costs.
But for some, spring training is a hidden war, a battle for professional survival. Those on the edges of a roster and those fighting for an every-day spot wake up each morning with a sense of quiet determination. And despite all the planning, prognosticating and projecting that happens over the winter, there are a number of contending teams that will enter camp with uncertainty at key positions.
Let’s whip around the league and highlight some of the more compelling spring training position battles.
Read more: Grading every team’s offseason, from an A+ for the Dodgers to Fs for the Padres and Mariners
Yankees: Third base
Contenders: DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza
New York’s winter has been dominated by Juan Soto’s departure and the team’s ensuing pivot, but the unsettled infield mix has existed somewhat separately from that hullabaloo. With longtime second baseman Gleyber Torres departing in free agency, as predicted, and presumptive replacement Caleb Durbin dealt to Milwaukee in the Devin Williams deal, the Yankees are left with an opening on the dirt.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., whom the club acquired at last year’s trade deadline and inserted at the hot corner, is slated to slide over and become the Yankees’ Opening Day second baseman. That means that barring an unexpected transaction, the Yankees will have a three-way battle for the every-day third-base job.
LeMahieu has the most experience but also comes with the biggest questions. Injuries limited the 36-year-old in 2024, and there’s skepticism about whether the lanky infielder can rediscover his bat-to-ball prowess as he approaches 40. That said, the vet is under contract through 2026, so the Yankees are incentivized to give him every shot to bounce back.
Cabrera was an adequate utilityman last season, finishing the season with 326 plate appearances and an adjusted OPS 13% below league average. About to turn 26, the affable Venezuelan could have unscratched potential, but it’s more likely that he’s a limited offensive player who fits best as a bench piece.
And then there’s Peraza, a former top prospect whose star has fallen. After starting a game in the 2022 ALCS, he entered spring training 2023 as the projected Opening Day shortstop. Instead, Anthony Volpe…