Miguel Andujar gets another chance with Yankees replacing Matt Carpenter

SEATTLE —  Miguel Andujar will get another chance. The former starter who has been stuck in Triple-A the last two seasons was recalled before Tuesday night’s game against the Mariners. He will replace Matt Carpenter, who fractured his left foot, on the 26-man roster.

Andujar, who was the runner up to Shohei Ohtani in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, has been hitting .293/.337/.498 with 12 home runs with Scranton. In 14 games with the Yankees this season, Andujar hit .245/.269/.286 with two doubles and four RBI in 52 plate appearances this season.

Advertisement

Now 27 years old, Andujar is starting to understand the transition from playing every day in the minors to coming up here and trying to have success.

“Here you just have to use all the resources available to you like the cage video talking to the coaches working hard, because that’s what you got to do up here,” Andujar said through Yankees translator Marlon Abreu. “Try to find a way to keep your work going on a daily basis and just use the resources and stay ready.”

Advertisement

Andujar was in the lineup as the designated hitter Tuesday night. Aaron Boone said he would mix and match where Andujar plays.

“We get a lefty tomorrow so he could be in the outfield tomorrow, especially if (Anthony Rizzo) is back in the lineup,” the Yankees manager said.  “We’ll just kind of see. It’ll be a day-to-day.”

Andujar was the odd man out after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in the first week of the 2019 season. The third baseman lost his job to Gio Urshela that season and since he came back healthy in 2020, the Bombers have been searching for the right fit for him. He was always shaky defensively at third base. Andujar committed 15 errors at the hot corner in 2018 and had a cringe-worthy -25 defensive runs saved. That was the fourth worst by a third baseman in the majors that season.

So, the Bombers moved him to outfield, where he has played 41 games this season. He has played 19 at third base.

But it was always his bat that the Yankees liked. He slashed .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs and 47 doubles in 606 at-bats in 2018. Inconsistent play has affected Andujar’s production in the big leagues since and his frustration has been obvious. He has asked the Yankees for the trade, but they have held onto him for situations like this. He is under team control through 2025.

Anthony Rizzo was out of the lineup for the fifth straight game after suffering lower back tightness on Friday. The Yankees had been hopeful that the lefty-hitting first baseman would play Tuesday night.

“Right now, we’re being really cautious and wanting to get through a really good full day workout and if he does, like I would expect him in there tomorrow,” Boone said. “So he’s doing really well. I think I’ll just give it one more day right now.”

This is the second time in a month that Rizzo has missed games with the back issue, which he said he usually got once a season the last few years of his career. In early July, Rizzo missed four games with it.

Advertisement

“I think it just improved quicker last time. I don’t think the injury itself has been as bad,” Boone said.  “Had we been at a different point of the season, it’s probably something he could have  worked through in maybe a couple days, but kind of want to not aggravate something or make something more of a long term problem. So I just think the original wasn’t as significant as the last one.”

Matt Carpenter, who fractured his foot Monday night, will see the Seahawks’ foot specialist here on Wednesday morning and then fly with the Yankees to Boston and head back to New York.

The 36-year-old veteran said he is hopeful that his season is not over, but he is seeing doctors to find the best way to heal the foot. Surgery is a possibility.

Giancarlo Stanton may be in Boston this weekend, but Boone ruled out the slugger coming off the injured list and playing in that series.

“No, I don’t think (he’ll be) playing.  We could see him potentially. And he could be getting close to that point,” Boone said. “And then it’ll be a matter of do we want to get him any rehab at-bats and make those decisions. ….We just want to get to that kind of finish line to that point to where, OK, we’re ready to play now. Then we’ll decide on whether it’s right with us or or get some at-bats.”

Stanton has been on the IL since July 24 with left Achilles tendinitis.