Now before the Andujar fans start to attack me, let me be clear, I like Miguel Andujar. I would love for the New York Yankees to figure out a way to get his bat into the lineup every single day. He’s a tremendous hitter with such a natural feel when he’s at the plate.
Disregarding his defense, Miguel Andujar is a great baseball player. The problem is that he doesn’t fit in anywhere with the Yankees. It’s not his talent level, and it’s not his inability to be flexible for the team as you saw this year from him trying to play the outfield.
Andujar has done whatever he could to get back on the field with the Yankees. However, there is just no room for him anywhere. Gio Urshela has turned into a star for the Yankees. He’s just as productive at the plate as Andujar, but he combines that with gold glove caliber defense at third.
Andujar tried out left field this year, but Clint Frazier has claimed that spot moving forward. Frazier’s drastic improvement defensively to go along with his great bat have locked up a corner outfield spot for him. We also all know that Giancarlo Stanton has the DH spot locked up for years to come.
What the Yankees should do?
Believe me, it pains me to say it, but the Yankees should really look to move Andujar in the offseason. About a month ago, I wrote asking fans the question on if the Yankees should deal Andujar. The results were pretty split in the comments mainly because of the love for Miggy.
I get it. Andujar became a fan favorite back in 2018 when he came up and shined for the Yankees. That year, Andujar should have won the rookie of the year award in my opinion. However, that honor was given to Shohei Ohtani.
The Yankees are going to be busy this offseason. Priority number one should be locking up DJ LeMahieu. DJ has been the anchor for the Yankees the last couple of years and he’s going to finish in the top four of the MVP voting for the second consecutive year.
Once the Yankees lock up LeMahieu, the infield and the outfield will be set for the future. All of those spots are locked up without Andujar. The focus should then turn to pitching. The Yankees have Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton all hitting free agency.
The Yankees bullpen has also been shaky at times during this season. If I’m Brian Cashman I’m calling up teams ready to deal Andujar for pitching upgrades. Andujar re-established his value with the way he swung the bat towards the end of this season.
Sure, his value still isn’t as high as it was after 2018, but I don’t think it ever will be. No matter how much it hurts to say it from a fans perspective, the right move would be for the Yankees to trade Miguel Andujar and either bolster their starting rotation or get another solid piece for the back of the bullpen.