MLB

Cano perfect in 5-hole if he could hit in clutch

Robinson Cano is 27 now and more than 3,000 plate appearances into his major league career. He is the third-highest-paid second baseman in the game, his $9 million ranking just behind Philadelphia’s Chase Utley and Baltimore’s Brian Roberts.

So the training wheels are off. This is not a young player anymore. Cano is in his prime, and the Yankees need him to be a prime-time player and not just a good supplementary piece. The Yankees need him to become their full-time No. 5 hitter. Not just for this season, but for their immediate future.

The prime No. 5 hitter from 2009, Hideki Matsui, is gone. And the player most likely to fill the role, at least initially in 2010, Jorge Posada, is 38. In the best-laid plans, Posada will catch 110 games, which means the Yankees will need someone else to hit in that spot in one-third of the games. And by 2011, they might need someone else to hit in that spot permanently.

Could it be Nick Swisher or Curtis Granderson? Possibly. But the guy with the best tools to protect the 3-4 of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez is Cano. He is a lefty batter with dynamite in his hands. He is a .300 hitter with power. But you know the deal. He is impatient, which drives down his walks/on-base percentage and his productivity with runners in scoring position. Teams would just work around A-Rod if they felt Cano was still a dud in the clutch.

“It’s vital that Robbie gets over that hurdle,” hitting coach Kevin Long said. “He’s been real good for us mainly hitting sixth, seventh and eighth. But you know how good he can be.”

Cano hit .320 last year with 25 homers, but he had just 85 RBIs. It wasn’t for lack of chances. His 198 plate appearances with runners in scoring position were the 18th most in the majors and second most on the Yankees. Posada had 60 fewer plate appearances with runners in scoring position than Cano, yet just four fewer RBIs.

Posada is a patient hitter who understands game situations. He drove home a runner from third with fewer than two outs 76 percent of the time (19-for-25), which was fourth best in the majors (minimum 20 chances). Cano was under the MLB average (54.7) at 50 percent (16-for-32). His .207 batting average with runners in scoring position was 105th out of 106 players with at least 150 plate appearances in those situations; Vernon Wells hit .205.

Long said Cano’s tendency to chase — the worst in the regular lineup — worsened in clutch situations. Translation: Cano losses all semblance of a plan in the clutch; of understanding that teams will not throw him strikes in big spots unless he makes it necessary. Long said if Cano could double from 30 to 60 walks, the second baseman would be “MVP status.”

That would be quite a leap, but it also would mean a comfortable jump into the No. 5 slot because his on-base percentage not only would be higher, but by swinging at more strikes he also could positively impact his already strong batting average/homer results. Long wondered about Cano hitting second between Derek Jeter and Teixeira. But I think the Yankees need a replacement for Matsui/Posada, and Cano is the best candidate. Here are a few other observations from Yankees camp with an eye on the future:

CENTER OF ATTENTION

My hunch is Granderson starts in center. Not because he is superior defensively to Brett Gardner (he is not). But because the Yankees cannot be sure Gardner is a full-time starter. If he is not, then the Yankees risk beginning the year with Granderson in left, and then asking him to flip back in May or June.

As a speedster with limited power, Gardner needs to define where on the Jason Tyner-to-Kenny Lofton scale he falls. The Yankees believe he is similar to Jacoby Ellsbury. Many rivals think he is more Scott Podsednik.

ACES WILD

Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman and Christian Garcia combined to throw just 1761⁄3 innings last year, and none is close to the majors. But the Yankees sure could use at least one — or more — to have a healthy, successful year. The Yankee system is populated with supplementary types who fill out rotations such as Manuel Banuelos and Ivan Nova. But Betances, Brackman and Garcia are the only hurlers the Yankees envision being capable of pitching near the top of a rotation.

It is obvious why you would want arms like those. They could help the Yankees, or they could help the organization obtain items it needs. If general manager Brian Cashman is being hounded for at least one of the trio in July, it would be a positive.

RIVERA READINGS

I find it interesting that so many people wonder about Jeter’s extension and not one for Mariano Rivera. After all, Rivera’s meaning to Yankee success and history does not exactly take a backseat to Jeter’s. But it is clear the Yankees saw no reason to negotiate with either after elite seasons. The Yankees know these guys prefer to stay and that they have the money to keep them. So why not see if the players lose some leverage by having less-than-spectacular years?

And, believe me, that is a concern. The Yankees know that last year was abnormal in how their older players, pretty much across the board, stayed healthy and spectacular. They also know Rivera is now throwing his fastball in the 89-91 mph range. His movement and precision remain great, so maybe that doesn’t matter. But the Yankees privately wonder if the numbers will keep dropping and if Rivera’s effectiveness can drop, too. That is another reason I suspect Joba Chamberlain will end up in the bullpen as not only the heir apparent, but as some safety net if things go very wrong this year.

joel.sherman@nypost.com