As we count down to Opening Day on April 6, Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand will answer the top questions facing the 2015 New York Yankees.

Wallace Matthews: How can the Yankees get the most out of A-Rod?

Another simple answer: Use sparingly in the field. And use generously in the lineup.

Between his age (40 on July 27), his injury history (two surgically repaired hips) and the fact that he has not faced a real pitch in a real game since September 2013, the best thing to ensure Alex Rodriguez breaks down is to start giving him two days a week at third base with a day every week or so at first base sprinkled in. Playing the field will prove to be much tougher on A-Rod's legs than merely hitting.

Thankfully, the Yankees have no plans to do that unless something goes very, very wrong.

But what they can do to maximize A-Rod's production is use him as much as possible as a DH, virtually every day and against all types of pitching. Remember, his career batting average is actually higher against right-handed pitchers than against lefties (.303 vs. .289), he homers at about the same rate against both (one homer every 14.9 at-bats vs. righties, one every 15.3 vs. lefties), and in 2010 he actually hit 73 points higher against righties than lefties (.290 vs. .217). So there's no need to give up at-bats against righties to Garrett Jones. You're better off with A-Rod.

Besides, if there's one thing older hitters need to keep their timing, it's plenty of at-bats. That's why you saw Rodriguez hitting better at the end of spring training than at the beginning.

And oh yeah, the Yankees need to back off their position of trying not to pay him the home run bonuses both sides agreed to in good faith. This guy needs encouragement and incentive, not hostility and invective. It's in the Yankees' best interests to have Rodriguez thinking only about hitting the baseball, often, hard and far.

Andrew Marchand: The dilemma of A-Rod's 2015 season is if he is too good, then there will be all kinds of speculation that he is on some sort of magic pill. From what he has shown in spring training, he doesn't appear to be some soon-to-be-40-year-old physical wonder.

The Yankees must use A-Rod wisely to extract as much as possible out of him this season. By that, he should almost exclusively DH, and probably no more than five or six times per week. This could keep him fresh. If A-Rod could hit 15 homers for the Yankees, it could prove very important because the AL East is not a very good division. Rodriguez, dare we say, could be a difference-maker.