The New York Yankees have a long off-season ahead of them, but several players have taken it upon themselves to improve and remain active over the next few months.
Both Miguel Andujar and Gary Sanchez have committed to playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic after having tumultuous 2020 seasons.
Andujar finished the campaign with a .242 batting average, going through a lengthy cold streak to start his year. He was eventually sent back down to the alternate site for the remainder of the season, as the Yankees relied heavily on Clint Frazier in the outfield and gained back some of their injured stars.
On the other hand, Sanchez was one of the worst players for the Bombers, finishing with a .147 batting average, 10 homers, and 24 RBIs. Defensively he wasn’t much better, as the Yankees eventually replaced him entirely with Kyle Higashioka.
Kyle started a majority of the postseason and even became Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher. The reality is, Sanchez has consistently taking steps back in his progression and is walking the line of trade-worthy.
However, that hasn’t deterred him from working hard and trying to improve to cement his starting position with the team.
#Yankees Miguel Andujar will report tomorrow to the trainings of Toros del Este in the Dominican Republic, informed the club's manager, Lino Rivera. https://t.co/c9eIKYdVaX
— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) October 27, 2020
With Sanchez and Andújar playing winter ball, the ideal scenario would be for both of them to roll into spring training with plenty of momentum and positive growth. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but it is a good thing to see they’re both being proactive during the off-season.
The Yankees could lose some of their coaches:
In other news, multiple teams have been interviewing Yankee coaches to potentially fill managerial vacancies. Hitting coach Marcus Thames is in the running for a head-coaching position with the Detroit Tigers, and now bench coach Carlos Mendoza is also a candidate for the Boston Red Sox.
Mendoza has been with the Yankees organization for 12 years, giving him plenty of experience to take over as a field manager with another club. Throw third base coach Phil Nevin into the mix as well, as the Tigers have also reached out to him for an interview.
It is a great sign that teams across the league hold Yankee coaches in such high regard, as it attests to their experience and diverse abilities. Unfortunately, this is bad for the Yankees, who we need to replace them with lesser options if they were to be poached, but none of them have been hired just yet, so we can sleep well tonight.