I’m not sure why a “source” is needed for this story or why it was approved by editors, but a source told Steven Marcus of the New York Daily News that Alex Rodriguez plans on winning the Yankees third base job out of spring training:

Rodriguez was undeterred, the source said, by the signing of Chase Headley to a four-year, $52-million contract to play the position Rodriguez occupied before his year-long suspension resulting from Major League Baseball’s Biogenesis investigation.

“Alex’s mind is that job’s not Headley’s, it’s Alex’s to lose,” the source said. “That’s what he thinks. Alex is going into training camp thinking that he is the starting third baseman, that if there’s a competition, Headley’s got to win it from him. It doesn’t matter about the money, what they signed Headley for. This guy [Rodriguez] can play.”

Brian Cashman didn’t seem all that excited to be discussing the issue:

Told of Rodriguez’s thinking, general manager Brian Cashman said, “We signed our third baseman, but Alex has to come in to compete for as much playing time as he can possibly get, so I would expect him to come in to be a two-way player, which is offense and defense.”

Rodriguez is 40 and has three years left on his contract.