With the Yankees preparing to take on the Boston Red Sox on Thursday evening, they have reportedly pulled up young outfielder Trey Amburgey, who has been dominating at the Triple-A level this season.
Amburgey is a 26-year-old right-handed hitter and thrower, featuring as a 13th round draft pick during the 2015 June Amateur Draft. At 6’2″ and 210 pounds, Amburgey is looking to make an impact at the big-league level, especially with a deficiency in the outfield for the Yankees this season. Losing Aaron Hicks for the year and Clint Frazier dealing with migraines has put them in a tough spot, but Amburgey could be their answer as they push forward.
Breaking: Source says OF Trey Amburgey has been promoted to the New York Yankees. A long anticipated move.
— Eli Fishman (@elijfishman) July 15, 2021
This season with the Railriders, Amburgey is hitting .312 over 38 games, including seven homers and 35 RBIs. He holds a 24.2% strikeout rate, but he has been one of the more impressive players for Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Both Amburgey and Hoy Jun Park have been dominating this year, but Amburgey has simply hit his way onto the roster, despite being a right-handed batter. The Yankees desperately lack diversity in their lineup, as Hicks represented a switch hitter, offering a lefty in a predominantly righty order.
Luckily, the Yankees have an open spot on the 40-man roster with multiple players on the IL, so Amburgey will not have to replace anybody. Hopefully, his offensive prowess can offer the Yankees some value in the short term, as they are trying to claw their way back into the AL East standings. Currently, they sit eight games behind the Boston Red Sox and 4.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card race.
The upcoming series against Boston might be their most important of the year after being swept earlier this season. Boston will feature Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound in Game 1, who has a 5.52 ERA this season, allowing 102 hits and 14 homers over 89.2 innings. This is a favorable match-up for the Yankees, who could use a big win to start off the second half of the season post-All-Star break.