Derek Jeter is gone and he’s not coming back. The Yankees will have to find a new leadoff hitter, a new shortstop, and a new spiritual leader. Jayson Nix took over after Jeter went down in Game 1, but Joe Girardi announced that NoMaas favorite, Eduardo Nunez, would be activated for Game 2. So, what’s the right move- Nix or Nunez?

Neither. The Yankee’s shortstop for the remainder of the postseason should be…

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. This is clearly the best play for Girardi, and let us count the ways:

1) Jayson Nix does not belong anywhere near a starting lineup. The Yankees signed him as a utility player who could come off the bench as a versatile defensive replacement. Indeed, Nix has played all over the diamond in his career, mostly with
solidly above average UZR numbers. The problem is that he has only 250 innings at SS — compared to over 2,000 innings combined at 2B, 3B, and OF — and UZR says he’s been nothing short of a disaster there (-33 UZR/150). Now, this is very likely a small sample size anomaly and there’s a good chance he’s at least close to an average defensive shortstop. But that’s not gonna cut it when you combine a middling glove with a bat that’s below replacement level.

Nix is a career .289 wOBA hitter with a wRC+ of 73. And that’s not the worst of it. The Tigers’ rotation is all right-handed and Nix’ platoon splits are so grotesque we cannot even display them on our family-oriented website. Unless Girardi can convince Detroit’s relievers to shag his flyballs in the outfield before the game, Nix has no chance of doing any damage with his bat.

2) Do we need to spell out our opinion of Eduardo Nunez at this point? Over parts of three Major League seasons, Cashman’s mancrush has compiled negative .2 wins above replacement. His UZR/150 at SS in over 540 innings is -25. He’s been terrible at every other position and he’s been terrible since 2005. His career wOBA is an anemic .308. Against righties, that falls to .290 for his career. This year his wOBA against righties was .238. This has gone on long enough. And now Girardi might actually start Nunez at short against right handed starters? No. NO NO NO NO NO.

3) ARod has had a rough go at it. His $29mil price tag hasn’t kept Girardi from benching him in Game 5 vs the O’s and consistently pinch-hitting for him in high leverage spots. But Girardi and Rodriguez both insist that the Yankee 3B is healthy. If that’s so, there’s no reason not to expect a major rebound going forward. Even if we totally write off his other worldly feats from his first 14 full seasons (.401 career wOBA), ARod still has a .356 wOBA over the last three seasons, and believe it or not, he was an above-average offensive player this year (114 wRC+).

Of course the biggest question, is if ARod can play any kind of decent shortstop, having not played there since 2003 (save for 8 innings 2005-06). He was an elite shortstop in his salad days, but his UZR has been negative since the move to 3B, and he doesn’t appear to be getting any sprier with age. nevertheless, remember what he’s replacing. Despite his gold gloves, Derek Jeter is perennially among the very worst defensive shortstops in baseball. All Arod has to do is match Jeter’s Leonard Cohen-esque range, and the Yankees will lose little at the shortstop position.

4) The 3B detail would then be filled by Eric Chavez. Girardi already thinks Chavez is a very serviceable replacement for Rodriguez, as evidenced by Game 5 of the ALDS. And this is not just crazy binder fancy. Chavez has a history of excellent defense, even if he’s more like an average third baseman these days. He’s always hit righties well (.363 career wOBA vs. RHPs) and he really mashed them this year (.385 wOBA).

This strategy is not without risks. We don’t know if there is an underlying health issue that is impeding Rodriguez. And we don’t know how capable he is at shortstop. This could be setting him up for disaster, which could in turn send his fragile ego hurtling into Greinkean regions of anxiety.

But it’s a risk worth taking. There is upside to both the bats and gloves of ARod and Chavez that could make the Jeter loss painless. Moreover, by settling for Nix or Nunez, the Yankees would be dooming themselves to certain impotence. Girardi had the cajones to bench the $29 million dollar man. Now he needs to strap that pair back on and roll the dice with ARod at short.