TAMPA — They hugged. They talked. They hit in the same group. They fielded ground balls together.
And when Chase Headley and Alex Rodriguez were done with a workout at the minor league complex Tuesday that made for a nice photo opportunity nothing had changed: Only a fool believes there is any chance of Headley not being the Yankees’ starting third baseman.
Headley, 30 in May, didn’t sign a four-year, $52 million contract as a free agent without being assured he was going to play third. The Yankees didn’t give him that deal so he could compete with Rodriguez, who has two surgically repaired hips, will be 40 in July, has played in 44 games (none last year) in the past two seasons and has the stigma of receiving the longest suspension baseball history for performance enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez seemingly understands the situation.
“It has always been my approach since I was 18. I love to compete,’’ said Rodriguez, who endorsed the Yankees re-signing Headley, who batted .262 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 58 games for the Yankees after being acquired from the Padres in July.
Not the type to cause a stir, Headley didn’t tell the Yankees starting at third third base was needed for him to return. Yet, it was understood early in the process he was going to play there.
“When we talked about the contract stuff, I didn’t want to make any demands but this is what I do best,’’ Headley said. “We established that. If I thought I was going to be a first baseman or a left fielder I wouldn’t have come here.’’
Of course, Headley wouldn’t balk at playing first in an emergency.
“I haven’t thought about (first), obviously I feel best at third. If asked like last year I would do it. If I am playing first base we are probably in trouble a lot,’’ said Headley, who appeared in seven games (six starts) at first last season.
Since Rodriguez was a premier third baseman from 2004 to 2012 and because he is a magnet for controversy, there are those with illusions he is in the picture at third.
If his aging body holds up —Â and that is a long shot — Rodriguez will get a chance to DH, play some first and possibly fill in at third when the switch-hitting Headley gets a day off.
Presented with a scenario where Headley and Rodriguez alternate exhibition games at third, manager Joe Girardi put that to rest.
“To me the most important thing is him getting at-bats,’’ Girardi said of Rodriguez. “If you are (alternating games) I don’t know if you can get him enough at-bats in spring training for him to feel comfortable. I am going to take it week by week to see where he is at physically and see how he is responding and make sure he gets enough at-bats.’’
Headley understands the attention that smothers Rodriguez, but didn’t think the interaction was any different.
“It was good, it was just like it would be with any other teammate,’’ said Headley, who Rodriguez phoned this offseason to introduce himself. “It was very friendly, we were laughing and joking around. It was what I expected it to be.’’
Maybe Headley is a person who has long been confident in his own skin. Or he knows there is no competition at third, so having Rodriguez and all he represents next to him fielding grounders at third isn’t awkward.
“I have been asked how I am going to handle that and it really doesn’t bother me,’’ Headley said. “I haven’t lost any sleep about it or worried about it. As a player you experience different things during your career. There have been different sets of circumstances I have dealt with and this is just another one. As far as a teammate, I have heard great things from other guys. Hopefully in a few days everything will calm down and we will start talking about baseball.’’