The New York Yankees Need To Keep Confident And Patient With Miguel Andujar

The word “patient” usually isn’t in association with a player that hit .297 in his rookie year, but New York Yankees‘ Miguel Andujar has a bit of developing to do on the defensive side of his game.

In 2018, Andujar allowed a putrid 15 fielding errors at third-base. He was ranked as one of the worst infield defenders in the entire league, but he’s primed to make a jump from terrible to at the very least just “bad” next season.

What is the young Yankees doing to better himself?

The hopes are that a challenging offseason program will help the sophomore improve drastically in the months ahead. Practicing his fielding and glove speed are necessary for his growth at the professional level. Manager Aaron Boone recently spent time with his third-baseman in the Dominican Republic – not a bad vacation might I add. Boone was surely analyzing his progress and further building a rapport with him.

Being bumped up from AAA ball last season, the expectations weren’t excessive for Andujar, but he took the challenge in stride and looked like a potential corner-stone piece.

Securing the starting job:

With the Yankees likely skipping out on the Manny Machado sweepstakes, Andujar’s starting job on the team seems to be safe for now. For comparisons sake, let’s look at Alex Rodriguez’s stats early on in his career.

In his first four seasons, A-Rod allowed 53 total errors, averaging out at 13.25, just a tad below Andujar’s first-year total. When A-Rod was moved to third-base from shortstop, he allowed 25 errors in his first two seasons. These numbers alone should provide us with some optimism in regard to the home-grown talent.

Andujar’s value comes through his hitting, though, as he smacked 27 homers and 47 doubles last season. While these numbers will be difficult to duplicate, his great start will hopefully spill over into a successful 2019 campaign.