After opportunities with the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays, Gio Urshela was shipped off to the New York Yankees for cash considerations. Little did those teams know that Urshela would turn into a star in New York.
The Yankees started off the 2019 season injury-plagued, and it included third-baseman Miguel Andujar going on the IL. They turned to Urshela in mid-April, and he immediately made a massive impact. He hit .345 in April with one home run, six runs batted in, and a .909 OPS.
Urshela’s hot April led to him batting .314 on the season with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs. He added an .889 OPS and 132 OPS+.
Since he hadn’t ever had that good of a season before, many people figured his success was a fluke. He’d always been known as a defensive player, but never held an average above .233 before.
In 2020, he proved the haters wrong.
Playing 43 games in the COVID-19 shortened season, Urshela bat .298 with 6 home runs and 30 RBIs. He added an .858 OPS as well as a 136 OPS+. Urshela also provided heroics, hitting a grand slam in game two of the Wild Card Series to send the Yankees to the ALDS. Additionally, he was a Gold Glove award finalist at third-base.
With his fantastic play over the past two seasons, Urshela has proven that he’s no fluke. His play has put Miguel Andujar out of a job. Right now, Andujar is playing in the Dominican Republic to try and get his game back on track. But, Urshela may have played Andujar out of New York.
Hopefully, Urshela will continue to be the Yankees third-baseman for a long time and keep up his strong performance.