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#Miguel Andujar could still end up at third base for Yankees

#Miguel Andujar could still end up at third base for Yankees

July 7, 2020 | 12:36am

The Yankees hope Miguel Andujar develops into a versatile player who can fill a role that has become very popular among big-league teams.

However, don’t forget that Andujar started 132 games at third base in 2018 when he finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year race to the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, who turns 26 on Sunday. Yes, there were questions defensively thanks to 15 errors and balls he didn’t get to, but Andujar hit .297 with 27 homers, 92 RBIs and posted a .855 OPS.

Andujar appeared in just 12 games last season due to a right shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery on May 20 and that opened the door for Gio Urshela, who posted career-highs at the plate and provided Gold Glove-caliber defense.

The combination of a 30-man roster for the opening two weeks of a 60-game schedule and the lack of many exhibition games during spring training 2.0 could lead to more action at third base for Andujar than might have been the case in March.

While Andujar showed Aaron Boone enough in limited outfield innings during the first spring training for the manager to believe the 25-year-old could contribute in left and right, third base remains an option because if healthy the Yankees have a bevy of outfielders.

“We know with Miggy we got a very good player, a guy who missed the bulk of last season but he came into spring training and showed us he was healthy, showed us a willingness to play a couple of positions because he wants to get in the lineup,” Boone said Monday on a conference call. “To me one of the really encouraging things in spring training for us in the first go-around is Miggy’s capability of playing the corner-outfield positions. I thought he took to it really well. I think it is something he could absolutely do, whether it be on a full-time basis or a part-time situation. As well, I feel he continually makes strides at third base.”

With Giancarlo Stanton likely the DH if the two-month season is played, and if Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge are healthy the Yankees also have Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier to play left and right fields. Trying to squeeze Andujar, who has never played the outfield in a regular-season big-league game, into the mix might be difficult, especially when every out counts.

And with nothing more than live batting practice thrown by Yankee pitchers starting Saturday at Yankee Stadium to evaluate, it’s possible Andujar could cut into Urshela’s playing time at third.

Based on a breakout 2019 when Urshela hit .314 with 21 homers, 74 RBIs and posted a .889 OPS he entered spring training in March as the starting third baseman. That likely hasn’t changed during the three-plus months since the coronavirus shut down MLB. However, Boone’s roster will have 30 spots instead of 26.

If Boone doesn’t want Andujar’s bat to go stale, third might be the best place to play him. While Andujar and Urshela, 28, have to prove 2018 and 2019, respectively, weren’t flukes, Urshela’s breakout season at the plate may have been a product of a baseball that jumped out of parks nightly.

A late-season slide in which he batted .205 (9-for-44) with two homers, six RBIs in his last 14 games was followed by a nine-game October in which Urshela hit .242 (8-for-33) with two homers and two RBIs.

Should Andujar wrestle playing time at third away from Urshela, Boone would then have the sure-handed Urshela to use as a late-inning defensive replacement.

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