NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez spent a good portion of his spring taking ground balls at first base, and the Yankees gave him the opportunity to take his glove out to the field on Saturday against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Rodriguez made his first career appearance as a first baseman, with the Yankees giving Mark Teixeira the afternoon off following Friday's 19-inning, 6-5 loss to Boston. Rodriguez saw time at the position in Grapefruit League games and played well, in manager Joe Girardi's eyes.
"I said all along, he's an athlete. He can field, he can throw," Girardi said. "Your concerns become the little decisions that you have to make at first: 'Do I go after that ball or do I let the second baseman get it? Where am I on the cutoffs?' Those things, that's what you worry about the most. The everyday things of playing first base, I have no concerns."
Rodriguez started his big league career in 1994 as a shortstop, earning an American League Most Valuable Player Award, seven AL All-Star selections and two AL Gold Gloves at the position while with the Mariners and Rangers.
He shifted to third base after being acquired by the Yankees in 2004 and served as a designated hitter in his first four games of this season. Rodriguez said this spring that he enjoyed being able to see the game from a different lens after two decades in the big leagues, and that he is on board with whatever Girardi asks from him.
"My original thought was maybe I was going to give him the day off [Saturday], but because of what happened, the length of the game last night and what other guys went through, I changed gears a little bit," Girardi said. "You think about the guys that were on their feet the least and you try to get them in there. I know it's not easy at 39 1/2 [years old], but it's just something we've got to deal with right now."
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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