Yankees GM: Initial plan is for Drury to play 3rd base

The question of where newly-acquired infielder Brandon Drury would play for the New York Yankees after he was acquired by the club as part of a three-team trade on Tuesday has been answered.

General manager Brian Cashman said the initial plan is to use Drury at third base, according to J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com, although he anticipates manager Aaron Boone will take advantage of his versatility.

"This guy has the ability to be more than just a quality everyday player," Cashman explained. "He's got a lot of potential. He's established himself as a quality major leaguer and I know he has dreams to be even more."

The 25-year-old Drury was drafted out of high school by the Atlanta Braves in 2010 as a shortstop, but spent most of his minor-league career as a third baseman. In the majors last season, however, he played second base in 114 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Prior to Drury's acquisition, the Yankees appeared ready to give rookies Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar a chance to prove themselves for starting openings at second and third base. That hasn't changed, according to Boone, although the competition for the two spots has certainly increased now that Drury is part of the equation.

"It just adds to the competition," Boone said. "It adds to the depth of competition that we want to create with our infield this spring. Nothing changes as far as Miguel Andujar is concerned for us. He's still going to have opportunities. There's still a level of competition going on and I still feel great about the player."

Drury hit .267/.317/.447 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs last season, which included a career-high 37 doubles.