What a difference a year makes for the Yankees at the hot corner
Miguel Andujar wasn’t the plan last season and neither was Gio Urshela. That has all changed in 2019.
Third base for the New York Yankees has been on a wild ride the past two seasons. After the 2017 season, the Yankees shipped Chase Headley off to San Diego and the third base slot was left empty. They could have reunited with fan favorite Todd Frazier, but the speculation was that top prospect Gleyber Torres might be ready to take the job at some point in 2018. Frazier signed with the Mets and the Yankees went into Spring Training without a real answer for the hot corner.
Cashman then pulled off a deal for Brendon Drury and the picture was looking clearer, or so we thought. Drury opened up the season as the starter but quickly landed on the DL and would soon disappear from the MLB roster. But it wasn’t because Torres took the job earlier than expected — it was because Miguel Andujar stole the position.
Andujar went under the radar in terms of Yankees prospects because Torres and Clint Frazier were the flashier names. But Andujar made sure his presence was known, to not just Yankees fans, but for the entire MLB shortly after Drury’s injury.
As the season went on, the story with Andujar went from “Can this kid play?” to “Where would the Yankees be without him?”
Less the one year later and after a highly-contested Rookie of the Year battle, those same stories are being written, but not about Andujar. Instead, they’re about the man who is replacing him: Gio Urshela.
Andujar is lost for the year after finally going under the knife on shoulder surgery. He appeared in only 12 games and when he tried to play through the pain it was clear that he was not the same player from last season.
Andujar was the closest thing the Yankees had to a .300 batter last year. This led the Yankees and many others look past his defensive troubles, so much so that the Yankees were not even competitive in the pursuit of Manny Machado. They believed Andujar’s defense would improve and his bat would remain top notch. They had their third baseman of the future for a fraction of the cost.
But enter Gio Urshela.
If you could take the complete opposite of Andujar (great bat, no glove) you would have Urshela. Combining the two would create the perfect third baseman. Urshela spent the past year working on trying to shed the label of “all glove no bat” and the results have been better than anyone could have expected.
The glove is definitely there.
No one could have expected this though:
In 167 career games before this season, Gio slashed .225/ .274 / 589.
This season, he is hitting .346 with a .400 on base percentage and an OPS of .890. He does not have the power that Andujar has but he has been an on-base machine, often going the other way for his hits. If there are runners on base, expect Urshela to get the job done: He is hitting .429 with runners in scoring position.
But the future of third base beyond this season is unknown. Will Andujar claim his spot back? Will Gio allow Andujar to even have that chance? Will it be DJ LeMahieu’s or someone else’s position by the end of the season?
The ball arrives at the hot corner in the blink of an eye and the Yankees know you can’t plan for who will playing there all season because those plans can change just as fast.
Thoughts? Let me hear them on Twitter @AngelSteve89
