More teams report to Spring Training & The Top Ten Third Basemen Today

Spring is quickly approaching, ladies and gentlemen. More teams have reported to Spring Training this weekend at sun-drenched fields in Florida and Arizona, which has many of us up here in the North dreaming of warmer weather. Let's gather the the vibe around the camps of teams that have reported. After this, we will take a gander at the top ten third basemen in the game today.

Grapefruit League:

Baltimore Orioles, Sarasota:

• O's reliever Jim Johnson not concerned about lower back (Baltimore Sun)
• MLB.com O's beat reporter Britt Ghiroli profiles the Birds as they head into camp (Britt's Bird Watch)

Minnesota Twins, Fort Myers:

• Joe Mauer eager to bounce back from disappointing, injury-riddled 2011 (Minnesota Twins Team Site)
• Twins' rotation will need to come through big in 2012 (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Philadelphia Phillies, Clearwater:

• Phillies sign Kyle Kendrick to two-year deal (Philadelphia Phillies Team Site)
• Considerably less hype surrounding Phils heading into camp (Philly.com)

Pittsburgh Pirates, Bradenton:

• Selig approves trade of A.J. Burnett from Yankees to Pirates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Grantland.com's Jonah Keri previews the Bucs (Grantland.com)

St. Louis Cardinals, Jupiter:

• Adam Wainwright prepares for his return (Sports Illustrated)
• What should people expect from David Freese this year? The Cardinals blog "Viva El Birdos" takes an in-depth look (Viva El Birdos)
• An open letter to new manager Mike Matheny from another Cardinals blog, Redbird Rants (Redbird Rants)
• Matheny delivers simple message to Cardinals entering camp (St. Louis Cardinals Team Site)

Cactus League:

Oakland Athletics, Phoenix:

• What are the ten best things about being an A's fan? You better count all of your blessings and remember this list A's fans, it might be a long season. (Big League Stew)
• A's have a lot on their to-do list entering camp (San Jose Mercury News)
• Challenges await Yoenis Cespedes, the A's biggest off-season acquisition (Oakland A's Team Site)

Seattle Mariners, Peoria:

• Mike Cameron calls it a career (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
• If Ichiro is not going to bat leadoff, who are the other options? (Seattle Times)
• Not much offense on the Mariners (King 5)

Chicago Cubs, Mesa:

• New manager Dale Sveum on reporting to camp (Chicago Tribune)
• Cubs to sign Nate Robinson to deepen pitching staff? (CSN Chicago)
• Theo Epstein working hard to instill a new "Cubs Way" (Fox Chicago)

Cincinnati Reds, Goodyear:

• Dusty Baker isn't worried about his contract (Cincinnati.com)
• Ryan Madson ready to deliver amidst high expectations (Cincinnati Reds Team Site)
• Since the guy still has not signed anywhere yet, the Reds blog "Redleg Nation" analyzes the cost of adding Roy Oswalt to the Reds (Redleg Nation)
• A little bit of history regarding Reds Spring Training, also courtesy of Redleg Nation (Redleg Nation)
• Some more about Brett Tomko's return to the Reds (Cincinnati.com)
• Reds beat writer John Fay spotlights Homer Bailey (Cincinnati.com)
• Jonah Keri previews the Reds for Grantland.com (Grantland.com)

San Francisco Giants, Scottsdale:

• Buster Posey is back! (San Jose Mercury News)
• Giants have yet to approach pitcher Madison Bumgarner about his contract (CSN Bay Area)
• Pitcher Ryan Vogelsong suffers back strain (Sports Illustrated)
• Giants continue talks with Matt Cain regarding extension (CSN Bay Area)

Now, do not be alarmed if you do not see your team on here, or if you do not see certain teams on here, because more teams will be reporting as the week progresses. If you are wondering when the report date is for each team, you can find it here: MLB Report Dates.

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On to our list for today, the top ten third basemen in baseball right now. It's slim pickings at this position, as many of the players on this list were battling injuries last year, and there were not any other players that had a good enough season to bump anyone from this list.

10.) Placido Polanco, Philadelphia Phillies
2011 stats (122 games): .277 avg., 5 HRs, 50 RBI, .674 OPS
Typically a consistent hitter who is incredibly difficult to strike out (his 44 strikeouts last year were the lowest of any regular third baseman), Polanco finally saw his average dip to .277, his lowest clip since his sophomore season in the bigs in 1999. Considering his average was still a solid .298 in 2010, this should raise some red flags among Philly fans, injury or not. He is not getting any younger either (Polanco turns 37 in October), meaning that last year may be the beginning of a gradual decline for the Phillies third baseman.

9.) David Wright, New York Mets
2011 stats (102 games): .254 avg., 14 HRs, 61 RBI, .771 OPS
Another third baseman who was battling injuries last year (get used to it, there are more to come on this list). Wright was plagued with back issues, and it clearly hampered him at the plate as evidenced with his unusually poor numbers. Wright still provides a good glove at the hot corner, and if the injury bug does not strike him again, he should return to his career norms this year.

8.)  Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

2011 stats (126 games): .275 avg., 18 HRs, 70 RBI, .814 OPS, 33 doubles

The aging Braves third baseman might not have made this list after the 2010 season. After that dreadful year in which he hit .265 with 10 homers and 46 RBI in 95 games, there was talk that Jones might retire following the season. However, he decided to return in 2011, and he was able to modestly increase his offensive output, increasing his average by 10 points, his homer total by eight, his RBI total by 24 and his OPS total by eight points. Jones will turn 40 on April 24, meaning his best years are behind him and the sunset of his career is quickly approaching. We'll see if he has one more solid year left in him, as Atlanta tries to purge from their collective memory one of the greatest collapses in baseball history.

7.) Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
2011 stats (99 games): .276 avg,. 16 HRs, 62 RBI, .823 OPS
Once the picture of youth and ability, Rodriguez is finally beginning to show his age. He missed a significant amount of time due to injury last year, and he has not played in at least 140 games since 2007. He will turn 37 on July 27, which makes you wonder if he is reaching the point of his career where he will no longer put up the kind of numbers he had during his salad years of  1998-2007. Nonetheless, he does not have much competition among the rest of the third basemen in MLB, meaning he will likely remain on this list for the next several years.

6.) Mark Reynolds, Baltimore Orioles
2011 stats: .227 avg., 37 HRs, 86 RBI, .806 OPS
Mark Reynolds is basically Adam Dunn version 2.0: high strikeout total, low batting average, a big swing and a lot of home runs. Reynolds provided a big surge of power to Baltimore's lineup last year, as his 37 homers led his team and all MLB third basemen. He also led the American League in strikeouts with 196, and only Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs was unable to de-throne him as the MLB strikeout king at the plate (Stubbs had 205). For someone who hits for a ton of power, he does not draw all that many walks or get on base a lot, which contributed to a somewhat low OPS figure for a power hitter. Reynolds only drew 75 walks and got on-base at a dreadful .323 clip last year. He is an enigma, to say the least.

5.) Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
2011 stats (101 games): .289 avg., 12 HRs, 49 RBI, .798 OPS
I am a broken record by this point with saying this, but Zimmerman battled injuries last year, contributing to his meager output. Unlike his other banged-up brethren, Zimmerman was able to put together a solid average in spite of his injuries. He remains one of the game's most underrated stars, and he is a dangerous hitter at the plate when healthy. Additionally, he contributes a great deal defensively to the Nationals.

4.) Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers
2011 stats: .306 avg., 26 HRs, 93 RBI, .871 OPS
I have never been a big fan of Ramrirez as a player. However he was able to have a nice bounce-back year with the Cubs last year, in what would be his swan song with the team. His 26 homers led all NL third basemen, and his .871 OPS was second among all third basemen, trailing only Adrian Beltre. His defense leaves a lot to be desired at the hot corner though.

3.) Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
2011 stats (115 games): .315 avg., 23 HRs, 70 RBI, .909 OPS
After a disappointing 2010 season, Sandoval had a comeback year of his own, increasing his average by 47 points, while increasing his OPS by a whopping 177 points! Some may have considered him too out of shape and washed up after 2010; however his critics forget that he is only 25.

2.) Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
2011 stats (133 games): .244 avg., 31 HRs, 99 RBI, .850 OPS
It was a difficult decision placing Longoria at second in this list, but I would think of him as "1A" instead of number two, much like I did with Ian Kinsler among second basemen. He battled injuries himself, but he bounced back to have a very productive second-half, hitting 17 of his 31 homers in August and September, while hitting .289 during the season's final month. He provides excellent defense at the hot corner, and if it was not for his lackluster and uncharacteristically low batting average, I would place him at number one.

1.) Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
2011 stats: .296 avg., 32 HRs, 105 RBI, .892 OPS
People may still not think much of him, mostly because of the perceptions they gained during his time in Seattle. Beltre continues to be a significant threat with the bat at the plate, leading the mighty Rangers lineup in homers, while leading all AL third basemen in RBI and OPS. He also provides great defense at third, earning his third career Gold Glove after another terrific season at the hot corner. The great defense he continues to display, along with his impressive offensive output, was enough for me to put Beltre at number one for this year.