The Pirates claimed Miguel Andujar off waivers, as announced by the Yankees via Twitter. New York designated Andujar for assignment earlier this week.
The move officially ends Andujar’s 11-year tenure in the Yankees organization, the last few of which have been marked by trade rumors and a sense that the Yankees had moved on from Andujar as an important piece of their present and future lineups. An injury-marred 2019 season for Andujar opened the door for Gio Urshela to take over at third base, and Andujar never again received any consistent big league playing time.
Heading into that 2019 season, Andujar looked like the latest of the “Baby Bombers” to make an immediate impact in New York’s lineup. Andujar hit .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs over 606 plate appearances in 2018, finishing second (behind Shohei Ohtani) in AL Rookie Of the Year balloting. Though there was already some question as to whether or not Andujar’s defensive shortcomings would eventually force a move from third base, there seemed little question that his bat could play in the majors.
Since that breakout rookie year, Andujar has played only 105 MLB games over the 2019-22 seasons. A torn right labrum sidelined him for all but 12 games in 2019, and though the Yankees experimented with using Andujar as a first baseman and left fielder, he still couldn’t find his way back to a regular spot in the lineup. With Andujar out of favor, the Yankees explored trades and Andujar even renewed his request for a trade earlier this season, but the end result was New York getting no return, as Andujar departed on waivers.
Andujar is still only 27 years old and has two years of arbitration control remaining, and so for the rebuilding Pirates, there isn’t much risk in taking a look at him as a possible piece for 2023. With only a .229/.250/.281 slash line over 100 PA for New York this season, Andujar has remained potent at the Triple-A level, hitting .285/.330/.487 with 13 homers over 297 PA with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
It remains to be seen whether or not Andujar can become more than a “Quad-A” type of player, but a change of scenery seemed long overdue. He’ll now join Robert Stephenson, Michael Chavis, Zack Collins, and other former top prospects or highly-touted minor leaguers who are looking for fresh starts in Pittsburgh, as the Bucs continue to look for some late bloomers to add their collection of in-house prospects. Looking ahead to 2023, Andujar could be a factor at first base, as Chavis has posted subpar offensive numbers.
Didn’t Andujar have some hype around him? I’m not familiar with him, but I recall Yankees fans wanting them to give him a chance.
2nd in Roy when ohtani won it. Since then injuries have derailed his career. Hasn’t really done much when given the opportunity
Undisciplined at the plate. He was a decent contact hitter but swung at pitches all over the strike zone.
Indeed, he did. Some outlets said the Yanks rushed him up when Andújar needed more seasoning at lower levels. Perhaps now without pressure he develops as expected.
Not sure if this is a genuine question but I’ll answer anyway: Andújar was the runner-up in the 2018 AL ROY voting to Ohtani. The following season he suffered a shoulder tear which effected his health and production. Since then, hasn’t come close to the good 2018 season he had.
Not familiar with him? He was runner up for ROY the year ohtani won. Ohtani didn’t have the offensive numbers that Andujar did
He wasn’t far behind offensively. How were Andujar’s pitching stats?
He had a great rookie year when the balls were juiced.
I like this for the Pirates. No risk high reward. I imagine he will be a everyday player on the Pirates. Hard to believe the Yankees got nothing in return for a guy that many people thought would be a centerpiece for a superstar trade a couple years back. This is a Cashman fail for sure.
to be fair, it would’ve been moronic for Cashman to trade him after his rookie season.
No one could’ve foretold the injury(ies) that killed his value. The hope was always to get him back up to speed and rebuild his value, but more injuries and inconsistencies mounted and the value was never there.
I think he bat’s .270 with a dozen or so dingers for Bucs.. but mainly playing a full season will be his main goal.
Good, hopefully he gets more playing time.
This is the best thing for Andujar, so happy for him. Free at last!
This is definitely a good thing for Andujar. His injuries have been the major problem but he has been mismanaged long term by the Yankees while in their organization. He should get an opportunity with the Pirates. Now we’ll find out if he can reach some of the potential and hype that he had from his Rookie season. Best of luck to U Andujar!
Betcha he goes something like .260/25/90 next year. Decent player who just needs that opportunity
That, with an OBP of .300 basically makes him a league average hitter. Anyone hitting .260 with power will accumulate around 90 RBI if inserted into the right lineup spot.
Cosmo-I still give credence to old fashioned stats like rbi’s but one needs to have hitters in front of him who get on base to have them.
That is a stretch with this Pirates team.
Cosmo-Like I said..Decent player. Definitely an upgrade over Chavis.
RBI just doesn’t tell you anything about the individual player’s talent.
It still does in a non statistical based way.
The better power hitters at least historically,batted fourth and fifth,and they had ample opportunities to drive in runs because,well,they were the better hitters.
It also implies that they would bear down with runners on base and not shy away from the responsibility.They would be moved to sixth or seventh if they did not do the job
The caveat now though is hitting the best hitter first like the Yankees do with Judge so that they maximize the number of at bats over the course of a year.I contend that this makes the player’s chances to drive in runs clearly less.
Rbi’s also are not a fair comparison for good hitters on teams with poor on base stats like the Pirates because,well,they do not score many runs.Also,the current setup averages out the rbi potential to the first four or five hitters instead of the thre,four,and five hitters.
Bottom line I think that it is still an important stat over time but does not tell the whole picture like it more so did thirty years ago.
It implies none of the assumptions you are making. Players succeed sometimes and fail sometimes. Succeeding sometimes with runners on is NOT evidence that a player would “bear down”, which is a vague, unproven concept. You are trying to justify the significance of a stat by doubling down on every disproven assumption of the past. It has never been a stat that tells anything about individual talent that can’t be more accurately derived from other stats. Not thirty years ago, not now.
What are the other stats,and how do they correlate to producing rbi’s?
Batting average, doubles, homers tell you how good a player is. RBI is a result based on too many outside factors besides individual talent. Bottom line, talent doesn’t change according to how many runners are on base. A home run tells you what the player did. A two-run home run gives you NO MORE info on said player, it just shows that there was another player on base which is totally out of the hitters control. RBI tells us circumstances, but adds nothing to the conversation about talent.
So you are saying that rbi is a worthless stat,and my baseball cards showing the annual leaders are worthless,and the HOF should not even mention how many a player had in his career?
Sorry, Cosmo, but that’s much too simple a declaration (and, yes, I’ve heard that argument many times). The reality is more complex.
baseballprospectus.com/news/article/24401/baseball…
clutch-factor.com/understand-clutch
psychologytoday.com/us/blog/extreme-fear/201006/th…
It’s basically worthless for talent evaluation yes. The fact that it’s on the back of baseball cards means nothing. It’s a nice star that tells you what happened but includes too much outside a players control to be viable for individual evaluation.
A home run or a grand slam? Which one tells you what about the player that hit it? They both tell EXACTLY the same thing. One is one RBI, the other is four but they both contain the same info in terms of player evaluation. The player has NO control over who is on base or when he gets his hits. None.
I’m not talking about the team-dependent nature of RBI. I’m talking about these statements:
‘Succeeding sometimes with runners on is NOT evidence that a player would “bear down”, which is a vague, unproven concept. You are trying to justify the significance of a stat by doubling down on every disproven assumption of the past.’
The nonexistence of a clutch ability is far from proven. If the idea that some batters perform better in high-leverage situations had been disproven, it would seem odd for Fangraphs to post a Clutch stat:
“Clutch (Clutch Score): The difference between a player’s totalWPA/pLI and their WPA/LI defined above.”
” I created a good part of the analytical paradigm that the statistical analysts advocate, and certainly I believe in that paradigm and I advocate it within the Red Sox front office. But at the same time, the real world is too complicated to be explained by that paradigm. It is one thing to build an analytical paradigm that leaves out leadership, hustle, focus, intensity, courage and self-confidence; it is a very, very different thing to say that leadership, hustle, courage and self-confidence do not exist or do not play a role on real-world baseball teams. The people who think that way…not to be rude, but they’re children. They may be 40-year-old children, they may be 70-year-old children, but their thinking is immature.” – Bill James
As a stat it doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know about individual talent from looking at other stats. The player has no control over who is on base when they get their hits. Pretty basic stuff. You’re conflating things. The HOF has nothing to do with this conversation. After the fact, it’s a nice stat but it tells you nothing more about a player that BA and extra base hits already does. It tells you what happened but not much about what that player did to get there, nothing more than those other stats. It’s like you have an emotional attachment to this stat and so are trying to force predictive value to it that just isn’t there.
I think you are misconstruing that Bill James quote. In any case that there are millions of variables works against your point. Is confidence a factor? Sure. Can it be measured statistically in the form of RBIs? Certainly not, which is the point if this conversation. Any other point you’re making, while valid, would be changing the subject too much in my opinion. (And the concept of clutch in this regard has basically been disproven. Account for randomness and the ability to measure it disappears. Simply put, talent does not change according to situation in a measurable way. Not within the context of THIS conversation).
Cosmo- This to me is an interesting arguement.
I understand your point I think completely.It comes from a statistical basis.I do not disagree with it on that basis.I just think that there is another deeper layer that cannot be considered by statistics.
I have thought about it a good bit and you are right about avg,HR’s and doubles,and those are the hitters that good managers put in the 3,4,and 5 slots where rbis chances are ripest.
Consequently,those are the ones with the most rbis on teams with good OBP hitters in front of them.Hence rbis are an indication of a good hitter also as the manager has confidence in them.
Rbis=runs= wins
I do think that hitting in the clutch is easier for some rather than others.The best data point for this instead of rbis may be slugging % with men in scoring position.But not all releivers are closers,or Sonny Gray cannot pitch in NY,or you want your best clutch hitters up at the end of a close game,I do not think that you can disregard that completely.It may not make a significant difference,but I think that it can make a difference.
Most of the top 50 all time are in the HOF which also speaks to your definition of a good hitter.
I do think that there is a human element involved that statistics do not take into accountRbis is not the statistic that tells one as much as others,but I think that it is still an important consideration and should not be disregarded easily.
Some guys cant take the heat of a bug market and the media all the time. Sonny gray was one who said MY was too much for him. He very well could break out. 2nd question does waivers still go by own league first, if so that means no AL team wanted him
Murphy-No,waivers go as if every team is in one league.
I think that the Pirates and A’s were tied behind the Nationals for the ignominious right to choose.Not sure of the tiebreaker.
I think this one will end up a great pickup for the Pirates
So the front office does have a pulse. I’m pretty sure they slept through Lamet being on waivers a couple months ago. But there is a spot in the lineup for Andujar. He’ll bat 3rd, then 7th, then 2nd, then 9th, then up to 5th
Buc-Not if Shelton is fired.
They might get some consistency then.
One can only hope
Ah, let’s fondly remember the days of VanMeter batting 4th, shall we?
Yes, so they can maintain the “two years away from being two years away” mantra
No, he didn’t dog it here. Instead, he had a hard head who thought he could simply blow fastballs by each batter in the same spot of the plate. And he had a pitching coach who apparently agreed
His transformation in Houston was due to realizing we wasn’t in college ball anymore, utilizing all spots on the plate and mastering off speed and spin pitches. Whether he had some help with the latter is open to conjecture
I’m not a fan of Cole, personally, but tell the entire story
Cole was also po’ed at the Pirates for not giving him more money before his arbitration years as he was a fine pitcher his first two years.
In his defense,he also had some arm problems in 2016 and 2017.
I also think that he is a fine enough player that he is better on good teams and the Pirates became mediocre in 2016 and 2017.
Paul and Tired- I would not bring up our favorite player’s name because he is just a phone call away from being put on the roster and called up.
That was actually “a thing?” Wow!
I think it will be like Jose Bautista where he irons out the kinks with the Bucs, then becomes All Star elsewhere
And they didn’t even have to trade Reynolds
Reynolds is the only legitimate player they have
And Hayes and Keller are decent.
He said Keller…. Lol.
You should look at Keller’s stats in last 20 starts before you laugh
O.Cruz will be really good
Just not a shortstop.
As a permanent DH, or outfielder
Lou-Stick to the Tigers.
Keller’s era is 3.15 with 5 home runs in 60 innings.
I would say that he is better than decent.
And yet, he seems to be the kind of pitcher who is destined to find success and riches once he leaves the organization
Tired- That is possible as he may have only two years left so they may trade him after next year if they stick to their philosophy.
Newman. Great middle defense man. Good “table setter” in lineup. He would be my SS and Cruz in LF.
Despite what he’s shown this year, Newman is a minor league hitter, at best.
Pete-BA 260,OPS 660,OPS+ 78
Not great by any stretch,but not real bad for a fine fielding shortstop.Your view must be blocked as Newman at worst is an adequate ML hitter.
Table setter? What’s your criteria for this? That he can’t hit? That’s no table setter. To be that you need to get on base a lot, not just be a hitter with no power. Newman belongs buried at the bottom of the lineup.
78 OPS+ is not adequate, that’s a stretch.
Nobody said that he is Ernie Banks.Newman’s overall good and dependable play though is way more than adequate on a bad team like the Pirates,and having a veteran on the young team is beneficial to many of the young players if they listen to him.
Guy was decent. Was way better than “Jackson Frazier”. Just needed every day at-bats but they opted for Gallo, who was 10x worse and 10x the cost
Do the old CBA rules apply of the same league worst to best record get first priority over the other league (in this case, AL teams would get waiver priority over NL). If so, shame on the Rangers for letting a DH/COF bat pass them by in favor of sticking with Kole Calhoun and Charlie Culberson for the remainder of the season.
No. Pirates probably had second or third shot at him.
@trog not really, how claims go now under the current cba, the team with the worst record at the time a player is on the wire gets first dibs. i.e. let’s say the rangers right now have the worse record in mlb at the time he was released and they passed then the next worse team gets dibs. to clarify under the old rules Andujar would of have to clear the other 14 al teams before even making it to the nl. under the new rules regardless of what league you play in picks now go to the team with the worst record regardless of league. i hope that clears things up for ya
Much better this way imo. Let’s the lower teams get a chance to get better. Otherwise I don’t think there’s any chance he would’ve made it to an NL team
thanks, i didn’t realized it changed.
Hope he does well with the Pirates.
If he’s playing everyday, I don’t see why he wouldn’t do well with the Pirates.
This guy was off the table in the Gerrit Cole trade talks.
Did the Yankees leave a World Series on the table in 2018 or 2019 by cheaping out in those negotiations?
Cole didn’t discover spider tack until he got to the Astros (not blaming the Astros, just that’s where he got into it). He just wasn’t the same pitcher at the time of the trade proposal. He also hasn’t been the same pitcher after it.
Facts.
Cole dogged it in Pittsburgh, cheated in Houston and cashed in in New York.
It is funny looking back. Torres was the one who the Pirates were trying to acquire, with Frazier being the more realistic target. Then Andujar or Chance Adams we’re going to be the second piece also acquired by Pittsburgh. Everybody thought at the time that the Houston deal was so much worse than any offer the Yankees would make but looking back Musgrove was easily the most valuable of any of the pieces that they would have acquired from New York.
Jd- good observation.Cashman over valued his prospects as many GM’s do.It could have cost the Yankees a pennant at least as Cole just wanted out of Pittsburgh and would have pitched better for any decent team.
About time. He should have been paroled years ago. He was never guilty of anything.
Wish the young man well.
Assume Torreyes and Gleyber have already congratulated him.
I KNEW IT LETS GO BUCS
It looks like Mr. Royal Samueless is playing nice now?
Man, I was just wishing the Mets could get him and give him a chance.
Why?
Cuz they don’t have enough decent but not great hitters who can’t field? Their goal is to draft acquire and then trade away every one of them that exists?
Andujar is an anomaly for the Yanks, he looked like a good average hitter with a low on base percentage. I think he will hit some for the Pirates and end up like Refsneyder who is playing for the Sox, or Ben Gamel who all under performed for the Yanks, There are a slew of ex Yankee farm hand playing as marginal players for other teams.
He didn’t get traded like he asked but he’s with a different team where, presumably, he will get regular playing time. He’s improved his defense quite a bit and is a passable Defender in LF. If he can get his offense back on track he will be a great pickup for the Pirates.
I wish Miggy-two-bags the best in Pitt.
Its sad that he had to improve quite a bit to become “passable” defensively at what is considered the easiest position to play, LF.
Well, keep in mind he was bred as an IF (3B), but he was an absolute butcher at that position. The Yanks switched him to LF in…’21 I believe, and he was very awkward out there. This year he came up and looked like a natural, average LFer.
All in all, he did a good job and made some really nice improvements. I understand your overall point, however.
Left field is not considered the easiest position to play. Apart from DH, first base has long been considered the lowest position on the defensive spectrum. However, the validity of the entire defensive spectrum as first imagined by Bill James has since been seriously questioned:
“In the outfield, for the most part, below-average center and right fielders produce a slightly worse performance in left (and below-average center and left fielders produce a slightly worse performance in right).”
baseballprospectus.com/news/article/41948/baseball…
This article is also interesting in that it calls into question the validity of WAR calculations.
with 2 years of arbitration left, if he happens to rebound next year, he’ll be traded for prospects.
Nutting’s way of baseball
Paul-It generally worked well for NH as he was shrewd enough to get ML ready players who were fairly predictable good players.
BC on the other hand has gone for more quantity of younger minor league players I think thinking that his organizational coaching could teach them how to play baseball.
The jury is still out on that one.
Their philosophy was to get something reasonably good for good players if they could not resign them.It has changed I think because of the low depth that they dropped to mid way through the 2019 season.
A number of rationales one can theorize about this pick up. The Man3 may be right of course, as they’ve gone this route so many times. But it also could signal some dissatisfaction with the overall progress and the process, in general. Given all I’ve read about him, I’m not sure he’s not viable competition at numerous positions after seeing things play out this season
You have to think he’s been brought on to play a corner outfield position. What’s ironic is that there has been no hint of instruction or learning this year, and this is a player who needs someone to put him back on course
Which would be a great success. Best thing they could do is watch him develop and then flip him for the future.
The same Zack Collins who’s 1-20 since joining the Bucs?
Dumpster diving is an art that the Pirates use to fill their 40 man roster
Good for Pitt…I was hoping Tigers would claim him, but didn’t get to them.
I’m so happy for Andujair! He finally has a chance to get some consistent playing time and not worry about getting optioned to the minors every couple months. Hopefully he can rake with Cruz, Chavis, Keller, and Hayes and make the Pirates a contender
Can’t believe the Nationals didn’t grab Andujar. They’re still counting on Carter Kieboom?
You wouldn’t want Andujar at 3B. He has developed into a decent LFer.
Kieboom is an infielder. Andujar is a left fielder. He doesn’t play third anymore.
Andujar could still play 3rd. He was blocked by Gio, Donny, and DJ here.
Andujar is not a 3B. He may stand at the position, but he is not a 3B.
He is beyond brutal at third. I wish him well in Pittsburgh.
Hah. Called it
Rumor was the Royals we’re in on him, but the Pirates are a better place to land for playing time and developmentally. Hope he can get back on track.
@LordD99- You would have to ask Mr. Royal Samueless about that.
@All Rise, I’ll have to scroll up to see who you’re referring to. As my wife constantly reminds me, I’m highly and annoyingly skilled at blocking out and skipping over people!
You may want to amend general behaviors if this is a recurring issue.
Never her!
I wanted this move earlier this year when they sent him down. Of all the waiver pickups they bombed on hopefully this one sticks.
He had one good lucky year, and has a .573 OPS over his last 376 PA since.
Can’t wait to see what he can do. I think it’d a worthwhile gamble that could pay out well.
Not sure how defensively adept your LFers are but he played quite well there this year. He made significant improvements in his reads & routes…he just looks more natural there. In fact, based on my observations, he played a better LF than Hicks, and it was discernible watching the two.
He hasn’t been the same since shoulder surgery and he changed his swing because of it. So, perhaps the Bucs can massage his swing a bit and get him back to his gap-shots where he’s at his best. If they can get him hitting line drives it’s a win all day.
Clipper, what’s your opinion of a Cabrera, Bader, Judge outfield next year?
I love that OF, honestly Joe. I don’t think they need anything more than those guys.
@joe & yc i’m going to say this as a die-hard cards fan, when it comes to the bader, j/m trade i think it’s a wash. yes you got an injured bader for your #2/3 guy, but when bader gets healthy your going to say what i was saying at the trade. we gave up a gg cf for a #3/4 rotation lefty guy. tbh i feel like this is going to be a win, win, for both sides. bader is a gg cf with some good bat skills even if it’s streaky. (ask any cards fan about bader and we all will tell you his streakiness is what pissed us off the most).
I’ll say this as a Yankee fan who likes Monty, but I wouldn’t reverse the deal. The Yankees need Bader more than Montgomery, and the Cards need Monty more than Bader.
Yeah, I can certainly see that. My biggest issue with the trade had nothing to do with Bader because, as you well know Brodie, I really like Bader. He’s one of the best CFers in the game.
My bone of contention was the timing of the trade and the necessity of SP for the Yanks. Cashman took a {huge gamble} at a time when our ‘pen was also hitting the skids. It was incredibly risky. For a win-now move, it could’ve backfired and ruined our season easily.
But, laying that aside because we have the benefit of knowing we will likely win the division anyway, we needed Bader. We needed a great defensive CFer, a true CFer, and a way to remove Aaron Hicks from the equation. In fact, we waited way too long to get him (we needed to address CF in the offseason)
This move will hopefully bear fruit this postseason, but it will absolutely make a difference next season and beyond. Bader is very similar to Gardy in how he plays (all-out) – and I think he will be a fan favorite.
What we desperately need now is a closer!
@yc imho i think what hurt the most in this trade was locker room chemistry. as outsiders (i mean anyone outside of the clubhouse) most people looked at monty as a 3 to 5 guy (myself included), but in the clubhouse especially in nyy he was more. i feel in the end this is going to be a win/win atm i also feel like this move cost you the ws this year. jm is no stud like max or verlander, but what he was in that nyy clubhouse was a co-ace even if the media said he wasn’t. my reasoning behind this theory is after the trade the cards stepped up and started playing like a ws team, and nyy has been playing like a team that just lost there mom. monty may have not been an “ace” but in that nyy clubhouse he was, he was the guy everyone went “if cole didn’t get him monty will”. montas was going to be that guy, but after seeing monty in stl i’m scratching my head why cash had to deal for montas, when he had monty, unless he was trying to cover up signing hicks, by trading a stud sp for an injured cf when healthy is a stud. then again we both could go on for hours on the boneheaded moves cash and mo have made
Yeah, the clubhouse aspect is a great point, Brodie. You nailed that one, my friend.
@Brodie, I think you’ll discover Montgomery is also streaky. He was in a four or five bad-game stretch when the Yankees traded him, then he was great for the Cardinals for four or five games, and now it appears his in another bad stretch. Over the course of the year, he’ll put up 30 starts and a 3.50 ERA, which is very good, but the path will be streaky and uneven.
@Lord, agreed, it seems the trade addressed the needs of both teams. The timing however seemed odd.
Hey, at least Bader can un-shame the #22 now…..
L99: So, I see a definitive need for SP, 1B, SS, & Closer. I’ll assume 1B is Rizzo, which leaves the remaining three. The good news? The Yankees have Britton, Chappy, Green, Castro all gone to FA out of the ‘pen. So, we won’t be hampered by expensive RP contracts to the tune of $36.5MM, total, coupled with poor performance.
Now, out of those four, the only one they *may* bring back is Green, unless Cashman gets a good deal on a one-year pillow for Britton too. Green was only at $4M, so that’s not unreasonable.
So, do we try Johnny Lasagna or Holmes next year? Yeah, I think that’s exactly what Cashman does unless a deal presents itself. He’s always reinforcing the ‘pen, so he will bring in RP, but I don’t see him aiming for a CP specifically.
What are your thoughts?
I think Britton is a good candidate to come back and he won’t be more than a 1 year 4-5 million contract. Of course the next few games will help determine if a return is likely. Hopefully he quickly regains command of his pitches.
Everything I’ve heard about Chapman is he’s gone. There’s even speculation he won’t make the post season roster though I have a hard time believing that.
Yeah, the good news is that Britain’s command struggles are typical of a TJS survivor, so there’s that. I’m certain he will regain his command and I thought he looked good (absent the obvious command issue).
@YC, I don’t see 1B as a need as long as Rizzo returns. His BA is low, but his overall production (133 OPS+) is good, and he’s projected to be one of the top beneficiaries of the shift restrictions. Judge and Rizzo have become great friends, but I don’t think that will impact either decision as business is business.
3B is a need. Maybe. Donaldson has blended in well, but age seems to have caught up to him. Remains a plus fielder but he’s missing pitches he used to crush. Still hoping he has a strong kick over the next month, and he has picked it up lately. Regardless, the Yankees should pay down a chunk of his final year and move on. So back to the maybe part. Do they give DJLM, Peraza or IKF the job? They have options in house with Peraza, Volpe and Cabrera.
The Yankees build pens as well as any team, but they were hit hard with injuries the second half. They clearly were hoping Holmes could be the closer, but his post-Allstar game issues are concerning. I almost wonder if he’s injured. King was a huge loss, and believe it it not, there is still a question if he’ll need TJS. Loisaiga feels more like a 7th/8th inning type. Great stuff but erratic at times. Plus, I can’t spell his last name.
L99: haha, I get it, which is why I default to the Lasagna moniker! But, I agree about Rizzo, which is why I don’t think 1B will be an issue, but technically he’s a FA.
I agree with everything you wrote, man. My assumption is that Cashman will fill out 3B from within (DJ, Donaldson, & IKF). I don’t see him spending with all that coverage at the position. Plus Cabrera can play there as well.
I never thought it would happen. But at least I kept saying I hope I’m wrong.
It’s a shame that Cashman refused to deal Andujar and Clint Frazier in a win now mentality to the Pirates after the 2017 season for Cole. Instead Cole goes to the Astros who won then. Now the Yankees have two-thirds of 2018 Cole talent and a pair of DFAs whose future was all sizzle and no steak.
The Astros “won” the year before they got Cole.
Gerrit has a lot of coin and a brimful of tar, but no rings.
Wishing him all the best in Pittsburgh. He was clearly frustrated with not getting more time in the Majors and he’ll have that opportunity with the Pirates.
First we take Pittsburgh , then we take the Orient Express looking for a job. Usually how it ends up
I’m guessing that the Pirates front office is coming to grips with the idea that maybe some of these “blue-chippers” who are now in Pirates uniforms either need a lot more instruction and a lot more time on the farm, or just aren’t what they thought they had
I’m all for competition and this can’t hurt. All too often over the last half of the season, the young Bucs have often looked like zombies in uniform. No fire. No fight. No pride. Maybe this addition can inspire some of those things from a guy who’s been part of a winning team
FINALLY a chance for Andjuar to get into a groove and play full time. I’d swear up and down that his numbers just come from being mishandled in NY with the constant up and down no matter how well he was playing or not.
Couldn’t be happier for him.
Can anyone to tell me when COLE is going to learn gow to pitch not to throuing ?
You should learn COLE to teach gow to pitch and to not throueing. That the answer is.
Wishes do come true.
“I wish him well. I hope he gets picked up by a smaller-market team and gets a chance to make the roster out of camp.”
mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/yankees-designate-migue…
Good luck, Miggy.
Hayes better stop eating seeds during plays, they have someone ready to take his spot at 3B now.
Dutch-I guess that there are things that we have never seen before that do crop up.
Hayes has been coddled from day one.
They had Castro playing third after that for a game or two.
Some of these players are like kids in that they need to be disciplined.I would have sat him for three games and I guarantee that he could have eaten all of the sunflower seeds that he wanted to on the bench so he would not have any left when he started playing the field again.
Cashman is a bag of trash who was put in an expensive suit, much like our politicians. He talks an awful lot with little substance using SAT words. I hope Judge insists he wants the contract AND that little weasel gone.
Cashman has A LOT of success behind him to be talked about like that.
As a pirates fan I’m kind of mixed on this one. Hoping for the best but kind of expecting the worst here. Glad he’s finally getting an open opportunity, but why has no one discussed the possibility of him playing 1b for us. Although I hope the long term answer is Nunez whose flying through the system right now and is really going under the radar still.
Seems like the logical fit on paper for me when I first saw it and considering the comments about both his defensive and offensive woes. We watched Josh Bell over at 1b for years how much worse can andujar be there if he’s basically being described as awkward in the field. It’s not his mobility that’s the issue how hard can it be for a guy whose played pretty much all over the diamond to figure out the most unathletic position in the game. All while not causing unneeded stress and tension on him a shoulder injury that’s been part of the problem.
On a side note I’m really bothered that this thread became a Yankees urinal chat about the of instead of a more congratulatory post towards a guy who desperately needed to get the life back in him again, but I’m not surprised in the least. This site would benefit greatly from a team by team forum dedication and private message postings to keep the topic at hand as well as.
Andujar has made himself into a capable outfielder, and it shows in every statistic:
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=lf&stats=fld&#…
He’s already taken some reps at first base as well. He played 17 innings there in 2021 and was credited with 1 Out Above Average. With his work ethic and determination, I have no doubt he could handle the position full-time.
It doesn’t matter the player or post, if it includes even just the word ‘Yankees’ the comment section becomes nothing but Yankee urinal chat.
I’m beyond used to this far to well living in central New York where every friend and friends of family is die hard blue. Bad enough Im expected to pay for parking at Mets aaa games. Not here to prolong the cause on a farewell to a final post.
I suppose it should be expected given your screen name, but let’s look at this.
You’re in a comments section pertaining to an article entitled “Pirates Claim Miguel Andujar Off Waivers From Yankees” — about a YANKEE player, signed by the YANKEES 10 years ago, who’s spent his entire professional career in the YANKEE organization, and who was just traded by the YANKEES . . . and you’re offended because YANKEE fans are discussing the departure of a YANKEE whose fortunes they’ve been discussing for years.
Yankee fans who came to this discussion thread naturally found occasion to expand the scope of the thread into a discussion other Yankee players, as commonly happens in most threads on this site.
Who’s victimizing you?
Typo: “a discussion OF other Yankee players”
Your points all well taken and I have to agree in thinking that maybe there is some thought about playing him at 1st. Bell had an iron glove and feet in cement down there and Pedro Alvarez? Well, a story in itself
They locked in Hayes way too early and they seem to be heavy in middle infielders, especially if Cruz is going to be given a full season or more at short. That leaves 1st or the OF, where truthfully, no one other than Reynolds has stepped up for long stretches
HE-You may very well be right on Nunez but he may be a third baseman and there is no thought to playing Andujar there.
Josh Bell has actually become a fairly good first baseman who gradually developed a fine stretch.They could do worse than to sign him to a three year contract to play first base.
I think that for the most part only the knowledgeable and classy Yankee fans have commented here and overwhelmingly support Andujar and wish him well.
I’m of the opinion that the shoulder injury has forever limited his upside offensively. A slightly above average Colin Moran type. He does have very good tools to become a plus corner OF’er. Could probably handle 1b well but your not a good team if he’s your everyday 1b.
Cubs front office was probably throwing crap around because they thought they were the only home for misplaced broken down hyped players.
very low risk decently high reward. OF might be his landing spot if his offense can keep him in the lineup. maybe try him at first but i wouldn’t put to much thought into it at this point giving the lack of experience there.
He couldn’t be any worse than Van Meter at first base
GL Miggy! And thanks Pirates for providing the Yankees some much needed salary relief.
yeah, the Yankees are no longer contracted to pay him
Do Yanks get anything in return?
No they don’t. He was claimed off waivers.
Now we know that he is replacing Chavis. I first thought this might be a good pickup but I don’t see him as much an improvement over Chavis.
He’s in the lineup for tonight’s game, as the DH. Worthless Collins is playing at 1st base and the worthless player brought up from Indy is catching
Don’t expect any high powered scoring tonight
SMH
I had thought that the Pirates and Yankees would come together swapping Andujar for Quintana during the trade deadline, but that never came together.
I think that BC did well in that trade for Quintana in getting Oviedo and the young third baseman with power.
And then he got Andújar for nothing.
Shelton’s obsession for not allowing a starter to pitch a complete game shutout might have ruined Pirates chances of sweeping the Reds
And to allow the second most offensive catcher to bat with the bases loaded
He’s a horrible manager
It’s just 13 PA, but so far, so good for Miggy in Pirate colors: .364/.385/.545/.930 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI.
Fantastic rookie year in ’18, then injury, then Yankees let him rot for three years. I kept hoping the Nats would pick him up after Rendon walked. His AAA numbers prove he can still hit. Torres, Urshela and Andujar — I couldn’t keep ’em all straight when they were Yankees at the same time. Torres still a Yank, and Urshela having a solid year with Twins; best of luck to Miguel in jump-starting his career.