As His Numbers Go Up, Cano Moves Up in the Yankees" Batting Order Paul Sancya/Associated Press "I'm proud of it, proud to bat third because it shows I've continued to work hard," Robinson Cano said. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Robinson Cano talks about how it does not matter where he bats in the Yankees" lineup. Of course, he can talk all he wants. It is his smile that belies him. Cano began his career living on the outskirts of the batting order. His rookie season, 2005, he started out hitting ninth. Since then, he has made a steady migration up, to seventh, then to fifth. Now, a week from the season opener, Cano is poised to move into the prime real estate that is batting third. When it was suggested to him that the No. 3 spot is traditionally reserved for a team's best hitter, Cano flashed a smile as wide as his plate coverage often is. "I'm proud of it, proud to bat third because it shows I've continued to work hard," he said. But I'll hit wherever they want me. It doesn't matter, because wherever you hit in this lineup, you have to produce. But when a batter hits third, he is expected to produce more. Cano, who was 1 for 3 Wednesday against Atlanta, raising his spring-training batting average to .204, has already shown that he can. He hit 28 home runs last season to complement a career-best 118 runs batted in and a .302 batting average. Manager Joe Girardi has already had a trial run of Cano hitting higher in the order. Late last season, Girardi moved him to third and Mark Teixeira, who finished with a .248 batting average, to fifth. He also batted Cano fourth when Alex Rodriguez was injured. Cano thrived, particularly at cleanup. In 165 at-bats spelling Rodriguez, he hit .315 with .364 on-base percentage and a .521 slugging percentage. "It was just a small sample," Girardi said. But then there is the larger sample that has been Cano's seven stellar seasons. Only twice has he batted below .300, while consistently adding power and production. Now he is 29, entering the sweet spot of his career. The time seems right, then, to insert him in the slot initially made famous by Babe Ruth. "I think Joe's come to terms with him hitting three," the Yankees" hitting coach, Kevin Long, said. It's another sign of Robbie's maturity and where he is right now as a player. He's probably our best hitter. It's a big jump, and it's another big step. We'll see how he handles it. Long said Cano's maturation process was continuing and needed constant scrutiny. Because of his enormous talent, Cano often swings at pitches outside the strike zone, and often with surprising success. But he is not as successful as he is when he is patient, waiting for strikes. "That's the first thing with him, his strike-zone discipline," Long said. We've been talking about that since Day 1. It seems like he's gained on everything but that. If he can overcome that obstacle, then we're talking about ... I mean, he's already an M.V.P.-caliber player, but he can take it to even another level. Long is constantly reining in Cano's free-swinging habits - not game by game, but often pitch by pitch. "Oh yeah, after every swing, you tell him, "Hey, hey, hey!" " Long said. I'm talking every swing, because you can't give him a little bit, or he'll start swinging at everything. You really have to make him cautious of what he's swinging at, and reinforce it. It is when he expands the strike zone that Cano's numbers dip. It may seem relative, because he is still talented enough to hit .300, but Long emphasized that it is why Cano has not reached his ceiling. Sometimes, Long will have to take Cano into the film room to demonstrate the difference between swinging at strikes and swinging at pitches temptingly close. "I'll show him maybe his last 16 swings, and 13 are out of the strike zone," Long said. "I'll tell him, "Look at the three balls you swung at in the zone." If it's in the white of the plate, he usually crushes those balls. Then he gets the message. It is a message the Yankees hope Cano keeps getting. It is what has helped him move up the lineup to perhaps the most coveted spot in the order. Nick Swisher, returning from a groin injury, had 10 at-bats in a simulated game Wednesday morning, getting four hits, including a home run. ... Curtis Granderson had a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his sore right elbow, and it came back negative. Joe Girardi said he hoped Granderson could return to the lineup Thursday against Baltimore. ... Hiroki Kuroda, set to be the Yankees" No. 2 starter, had another solid outing in the Yankees" 5-5 tie with Atlanta in 10 innings. He pitched seven innings, striking out six and allowing two runs. His Grapefruit League earned run average is 2.91. ... With Austin Romine still struggling with back issues, the Yankees acquired catcher Craig Tatum off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Perhaps because of the left-handed designated hitter Raul Ibanez's spring-training struggles (.089 average), the Yankees signed the veteran left-handed hitter Jack Cust to a minor league contract.