It is unclear where Miguel Andujar fits on the Yankees’ list as Gio Urshela is due to recover from elbow surgery out of season in time for opening day.
Still, Aaron Boone said the Yankees did not give up on 26-year-old Andujar, who spent much of last season at the team’s alternate location in Scranton.
Asked about Andujar’s potential role, Boone said, “Well, see.”
“The thing about [Andujar] Nothing has changed regarding his talent, ” Boone said during a call from Zoom from Tampa on Wednesday. “At his age, when technically he should have been at the peak of his career, in the past two years he has had an injury and last year he didn’t have many regular strokes. ”
Andujar’s downfall began when he suffered a shoulder injury in 2019 that required surgery. Urshela emerged as the regular third baseman and Andujar didn’t do well a year ago when the Yankees tried to turn him into a utility player.
According to Boone, Andujar faces a similar task this spring, with work reaching third base, as well as first base and left field.
After a lack of activity in the past two seasons, Boone said Andujar faces “a challenge”.
“He has a lot of talent, we love the person and the makeup,” said Boone of Andujar. “We just have to watch it unfold … When opportunities come as they inevitably do, you need to be able to take advantage of them and he has the talent to do that.”