Last year after just 13 plate appearances Miquel Andujar was suffering from shoulder inflammation that was determined to be a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder. He went on the IL and returned to the lineup in May. The thinking was that rested, it would not keep him from hitting. Not so, after he came off the IL on May 4th he batted 3-for-34 (.088). The Yankees believed he could play through the season, only questioning his ability to accurately throw from third to first. It was not to be, and season-ending surgery was imminent, The surgery was performed by team surgeon Christopher Ahmad at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
With no backup at third, the Yankees brought up Gio Urshela who the Yankees had obtained from the Toronto Blue jays the previous August. He played the rest of the season at Scranton Wilkes/Barre where he hit .307 in 107 plate appearances before being called up to replace Andujar inn 2019. With the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays, Urshela was known as an average hitter with little power but a fierce defender at the hot corner. Upon his arrival at the Stadium, he started off slowly at the plate but fans were treated to some amazing plays at third base. As the season progressed Urshela became hot with the bat. With unprecedented injuries around him, he remained healthy until August 29th when he went on the IL with a minor groin strain. He returned and did some of his best hitting of the year. He ended the season hitting .314 with a career-high 21 home runs while playing a Gold Glove- like third base.
In 2018 the 24-year-old Andujar finished second to the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani in last year’s AL Rookie of the Year Award voting, having batted .297/.328/.527 with 47 doubles, 27 homers, 92 RBIs and a 127 OPS+ in 149 games. The Yankees thought they had their third baseman for the future. The only question with Andujar was his sometimes less than adequate range and footwork at his corner. In 2018 he had 15 errors with a poor fielding percentage of .948 and only turning 6 double plays. In 2019 Urshela had 13 errors at third with a .958 fielding percentage while turning 20 double plays. Urshela also played first base, in center field and left field, a game each in each position. In the postseason he got 8 hits with 2 home runs, (beating out Judge and Sanchez) scoring 4 runs. Defensively he played all games at third errorless while turning 4 double plays.
During spring training Manager Aaron Boone will be watching Andujar carefully and most likely will play him in other positions to see how he performs should Urshela be the opening day third baseman. With scouts observing Andujar in the Dominican Republic this winter, the reports are that Miggy will be fully ready for the upcoming season. Andujar is reportedly very strong as reported by EmpireSportsMedia’s own Alexander Wilson, he is ripped. He shows no sign of any discomfort in the shoulder. Reportedly Aaron Boone will be traveling to the Republic soon to check on Andujar’s progress. It’s obvious, regardless of Urshela’s stellar season, that the Yankees would rather see Andujar in the regular lineup. You also can be sure Miggy will be competing for his spot at third. It seemed until just recently that Gio Urshela had a lock on the hot corner. It now looks as though that may be decided during spring training.