Cashman: No plan to move Jeter off shortstop

Clarifying comments he had made at a breakfast Q & A with fans, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman Tuesday told Newsday he doesn't plan to move Derek Jeter to the outfield.

"No, he's our shortstop," Cashman said in a telephone interview. "Do we have any plan on moving him to the outfield? No."

Earlier, at a WFAN breakfast hosted by Mike Francesa, Cashman said he answered a hypothetical question about which position Jeter would be more suited to play if he moved off shortstop. Cashman said he thinks Jeter would be better in the outfield than at third base.

"I guess it was one of those, 'You have to be there,' '' Cashman told Newsday. "The question was, 'Do you see Jeter finishing his career at shortstop?' The answer was, 'Yes, I hope so,' but if you hear Mike on the radio he always talks about Jeter going to third and A-Rod going to DH. So he said, 'Do you see that happening?' and my response was: 'I don't think so. I think his athletic ability will take him more to the outfield. I have a belief a corner infield needs power.' That was it."

Calls and e-mails to Jeter's agent, Casey Close, were not returned.

This is not the first time this offseason that Cashman has walked back his comments. A few weeks ago, a newspaper's website reported he said Andy Pettitte might join the Yankees in the middle of the season. Cashman said he either misspoke or was misunderstood and the newspaper pulled the story off the site.

Cashman also made somewhat disparaging remarks about Jeter's ability during contract talks this offseason, when he suggested that if he could get a better deal elsewhere, he should shop around.

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As for yesterday's comments on Jeter, Cashman has been consistent in saying he's not sure if Jeter, 36, will be able to play shortstop for all four years of the contract he signed in December. (The deal is for three years guaranteed for $51 million, with Jeter holding a player option for the fourth year at $8 million.)

As for now, Cashman said, "There is no issue with him going anywhere, but I was asked if I would be inclined to move him to third in the future and Alex to DH. I said I think [Jeter's] athletic abilities translate more to the outfield."

Jeter worked out Tuesday at the Yankees' spring-training complex in Tampa, hitting in the batting cage and fielding grounders. The only time he spent in the outfield came when he played catch before infield drills.

Once Cashman's initial remarks made the rounds on the radio and Internet, a feeding frenzy of discussion of Jeter's future position took hold of Yankee Nation. It was a hot topic at yesterday's Baseball Assistance Team (BAT) dinner at a hotel in Times Square.

Darryl Strawberry, a former teammate, scoffed at the idea of Jeter changing positions - ever.

"It will never happen,'' he said. "I could never see Jeter playing the outfield. Knowing him as well as I do, and all the great things he's accomplished as a shortstop, there will be no reason for that."

Former Met Howard Johnson, who moved from third to the outfield, said: "At his age, I don't see it. Anything's possible. I was 32 years old and went to centerfield. That was one of the toughest things I ever did because there's a lot physically that goes into it. It's one of those things, if you're going to do it, you've got to do it early. You could go to a corner outfield spot, maybe.''

Johnson's former manager Davey Johnson was the Orioles' manager when Cal Ripken Jr. moved from shortstop to third base.

"When you have a great player, like Derek Jeter, he is not moving to the outfield,'' Davey Johnson said. "Maybe as a putdown he goes to second base. That would be the worst-case scenario. I don't see him moving off of short.''

Yankees senior adviser Gene Michael, a former shortstop himself, said the topic had not come across his desk.

"Derek has the ability,'' he said. "But I consider Derek a shortstop. I haven't discussed it with them yet, but I think Derek still can play shortstop well. There's always been talk of Derek Jeter moving to centerfield, but I don't think that's necessarily necessary."

Andy still up in air. Cashman, in an interview later in the day with ESPN 1050 radio, said he spoke Monday to Pettitte but that the lefthander was no closer to a decision to play in 2011 or retire.

At the breakfast, Cashman said the Red Sox were better than the Yankees right now, but his team has a better bullpen.

Cashman on why he is not considering Joba Chamberlain as a starter: "I don't think his stuff is the same'' since he left a game in Texas in August 2008 because of rotator-cuff tendinitis. "If this is what he is as a starter now, this is not what he was,'' Cashman said. "The stuff plays up better in the pen." With AP