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The decision by Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees to pursue surgery now rather than hope he can play through his hip injury is absolutely the right call. While the best case scenario would have been 150+ games of Rodriguez–level numbers, there was too great a chance he would have either lost substantial power or, worse, played poorly for a month or two and then have to be shut down. By attempting to address the problem now, the Yankees gain the benefit of having 3 weeks to find his temporary replacement. Granted, it would have been even better if he had gotten the surgery in December, but that’s no longer an option so I won’t bother dwelling on it here. (Rest assured, I’m not thrilled it’s just coming up now, but so it goes…)

I’ve read well over a dozen possible options to serve as the Yankees April/May 3B but only a few really make sense to me. Here’s the list, from dumbest to worst to best:

The ones I really don’t like:

The Ridiculous In-House Options: Mark Teixeira or Robinson Cano or Xavier Nady to 3B. Works well enough in PS3 I’m sure but this is real baseball. Teixeira doesn’t need the extra pressure of going back to a position he last played (poorly) at age 23 and Cano, as part of the Yankees long-term plans at 2B, shouldn’t be jerked around the IF to accommodate a veteran 2B stop-gap. Nady would be great if he could handle the position but I’m thinking the fact that he’s only played 3 games there since coming to the majors says all we need to know about that suggestion.

The Bad In-House Options: Angel Berroa would likely give 2008 Jose Molina a run for his money as far as negative VORP goes. Cody Ransom looked good in limited time last season and might be an ok short-term option as the weak-side of a platoon but would likely be overmatched receiving 25 PAs per week. Eric Duncan … no.

The Illogical Outside Options: Ray Durham isn’t a good 2B. He certainly wouldn’t be a good 3B and isn’t worth moving Cano for. Mark Grudzielanek would be more experienced than Ransom but not necessary much better at the plate and hasn’t played 3B since before I graduated high school. I’m 30.

The Overly Expensive Outside Options: Dan Uggla would cost far too much in a trade, have to switch positions and would then necessitate another trade once Rodriguez returned. Hank Blalock may not be able to handle 3B anymore and, even if he could, is an even-odds bet to join Rodriguez on the DL. Garrett Atkins doesn’t excite me at Coors so I really don’t want to see him switch to a park that deflates right-handed hitters’ numbers. Melvin Mora had a nice season last year but he’s a likely regression candidate and I very overpriced at $10MM remaining on his deal.

The ones I don’t love but could understand:

The Cheaper Trade Options: Chad Tracy probably wouldn’t cost much more than salary relief and a flyer prospect to Arizona and in a L/R platoon with Ransom might keep the position around league average. Mark Teahen would probably cost a bit more for a bit more production. Neither is a great defender at 3B and probably qualify as treading water at its best. Brandon Inge has a great glove at 3B but an awful OBP and $13MM left on his contract over the next two seasons. Detroit and New York have a recent trade history and Inge is probably the best option among this group since he’s versatile enough to take over for Jorge Posada behind the plate at times without being quite as awful with the bat as Molina.

The two that probably make the most sense:

The Full Season Solution: If the Yankees aren’t confident that Rodriguez will be back in 2009 at all (or fear he’ll be back in 9 weeks only to potentially need the full surgery shortly thereafter), the most compatible lineup fit is Adrian Beltre. He’d be expensive both in terms of money and prospects, no doubt, but he’s in the last year of his deal and was earlier rumored to be available at the right price. He’d be a step down in OBP and couldn’t hold down Rodriguez’s spot in the middle of the lineup but he would provide some power and a great glove at 3B. The main stumbling block here would probably be the level of prospects Seattle would ask for in return for their downgrade from Beltre to Ronny Cedeno. Still, it’s plausible.

The Best Option: Chone Figgins doesn’t appeal to my sabermetric side all that much but I’ve loved him as a player for a long time. He’s the kind of guy who has tremendous value in his versatility and, utilized properly, can be a great catalyst type. He’s in the last year of his deal with Anaheim and they may decide to get value out of him now in order to finally see what they have in Brandon Wood. While the Angels likely wouldn’t be in a rush to help out the Yankees, perhaps the right combination of a bullpen arm for now and pitching prospect for later could entice them. The most appealing part about Figgins from a Yankee standpoint is that he would maintain high value to the team even after Rodriguez returns. He’d give them a utility roamer, a fill-in at multiple positions in the event of another injury and a great late innings option on his days off. The drop in team power would certainly be felt for the 2 months without Rodriguez but Figgins makes few enough outs and does enough other things well to be a solid option at 3B. If Anaheim’s demands aren’t outrageous, Figgins is my choice.