Coming off a season in which he played just 99 games, Alex Rodriguez is hoping to be healthy in 2012 and wants to play third base. He doesn't want to become the team's regular designated hitter. "First of all, let me just say this. I don't train and prepare to be a DH," Rodriguez said. "I'm definitely not a DH. I'll obviously defer to (manager) Joe (Girardi), and I'll do exactly what he wants me to do, but it's definitely important for me to throw a very big number out there of playing third base. I don't see any slowing down defensively. I think it's important for our team to collect more wins and be more productive and have a longer lineup by me playing third base." Joe Girardi has made it clear that he will use the DH spot to rest aging stars like Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira when he feels the need to do so. "I'm not saying that I'm going to go out and play 150 games at third base," said Rodriguez, who played just 89 games at third last season. "I think I'll let Joe make that decision. But it is important for me to be out there and play third base for our team to win more games."