The Yankees were fired a few days after spring 2018 training, when they switched to a third base. GM Brian Cashman thought he acquired an impact player with untapped potential, getting Brandon Drury from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team deal.
“He has established himself as a top quality league player, but I know he dreams of being even more and our department of professional scouts has the same views,” said Yankees Cashman at the time.
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Almost three years, a lot of frustration and a change of scenery later, Drury will try to revive his wreck career with the Mets, who added two Yankees shipwrecks on Friday.
The day after acquiring Francisco Lindor in a highly successful negotiation, the Mets announced on Friday that left-handed appeaser Stephen Tarpley was withdrawn from the Miami Marlins and Drury was signed into a lower league deal.
Tarpley, 27, and Drury, 28, will compete for a place in the big league during spring training.
Like Drury, the Yankees were crazy about Tarpley. They liked his potential by acquiring him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in August 2016, when Tarpley was a prospect, so he grew up in the organization later in 2018, when he debuted at the championships, allowing for three runs in nine entries in 10 relief appearances.
The Yanks, however, embittered Tarpley in 2019 when he pitched for an ERA of 6.93 in 21 matches. He was traded to Marlins by the minor league third baseman, James Nelson, on January 15, 2020, and then fought again last season, pitching for an ERA of 9.00 over 12 relief performances for Miami .
Drury never succeeded in his half-season with the Yankees, as he started a long list of injuries in 10 days due to blurred vision. He ended up hitting only 0.176 with a home run in 18 games before being traded to Toronto in July, with outfielder prospect Billy McKinney by pitcher JA Happ.
Drury blew 15 home runs on 418 at-bats playing 120 games for the Blue Jays in 2019, but only hit 0.218. Last year, he hit 0.152 for Toronto in 21 games before losing his squad spot in late August and spending the rest of the season on Jays’ alternate website.
Drury’s stock was high when the Yankees gave up on Nick Solak’s internal prospect to get Drury, who reached 0.275 for 2017-18 Arizona with 68 doubles, 29 homers and 116 RBI. After the switch, an MLB scout responded by telling NJ Advance Media: “Damn it, the Yankees are better off again! It is a good deal for them. “
Drury ended up going to IL in early April, and when he returned in late June, Miguel Andujar was the holder of third base and on his way to second place in the AL rookie of the year vote.
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