After Miguel Andujar decided to have season-ending surgery on his shoulder, the New York Yankees had big shoes to fill. After finishing second for the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year award, Andujar was monumental to the Yankees’ lineup.
Gio Urshela was traded to the New York Yankees from the Toronto Blue Jays in August of 2018 due to his lack of offensive talent. Boy, were they wrong.
Urshela slashed .314/.355/.534 with 21 home runs and 74 runs batted in. Originally starting his season in the Minor Leagues, Urshela shocked the Major Leagues when he was promoted to fill Andujar’s role.
However when healthy, Andujar is just as good offensively. In his rookie year, he slashed .297/.328/.527 with 27 homers and 92 runs batted in.
The variable that separates the two players is their defensive ability. Urshela is way beyond Andujar at third base, it’s not even a question. This leads me to the thought of making Andujar a DH and keeping Urshela the primary third basemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqvIKolk2UU
Since the Yankees let Edwin Encarnacion walk to free agency, the designated hitter spot is wide open and Andujar could fill that role.
The Yankees will have a difficult decision on their hands. Both players have only really played one full season in the Major Leagues so the sample sizes aren’t big enough to judge based on prior accomplishments. It’s going to come down to simply who’s playing better. Another thing to consider is the Yankees are known to rather have a stacked power-hitting lineup than their best defensive lineup.
I think the Yankees should keep Urshela their primary third basemen and work Andujar in the lineup through the DH role. Andujar was too much of a defensive liability during the 2018 season that it makes more sense to have a better-fielding player at the hot corner.