This offseason has been littered with rumors regarding New York Yankees‘ youth player Miguel Andujar departing in a potential trade. Still, manager Aaron Boone is confident that Miggy can find a place on the team for the foreseeable future.
In 2019, Andujar spent the entire season recovering from a torn Labrum, just to have his position at third base stolen out from under him by Gio Urshela. This made Andujar’s place on the team unstable, forcing him to adapt and test different positions.
So far, Boone has tossed Andujar into the mix in left field and at first base, but the latter is already seeming to be an unlikely fit.
The New York Yankees are eager to get Miguel Andujar back int the outfield:
“Right now it is a little bit of a priority to get him back in the outfield and get him those reps and making sure we get him back to third as well,’’ Aaron Boone said of Andujar, who went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
The 26-year-old has shown his offensive quality this spring training, but his defense has once again been a question mark, despite his performance in left field being decent.
Boone has been impressed with Andujar’s abilities in the outfield lately, stating:
“The work’s been really good, his progress has been really good. We’re really excited about what we’re seeing,’’ Boone said.
Sliding into the outfield was one of the last chances Andujar had at leaving a defensive mark on the team, especially with Giancarlo Stanton dealing with injury concerns. Despite Andujar’s solid job in left, Boone made sure to detail the ease of the two pop-ups he handled:
“It was another good day for him out there. I don’t want to overstate it because they were two fairly easy plays, but talking about a sun field where there was a lot of wind,’’ Boone said. “I am watching the pitcher and the batter and my eyes shift and [Andujar] is already on the move like he should be. I think he is reading the ball well out there and he is moving. So far it looks natural to him.’’
The progression of Miggy and his ability to adapt to different positions makes him more valuable in the long term. The Yankees may be trying to mold him into a two-position player, which would give the Bombers more stability on the hot corner and in left field. You can never have enough reserve players.