The Pirates have recalled Miguel Andujar to the team, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports. The Pirates had outrighted him off the roster in January, but he’ll return after a month in Triple-A. Wil Crowe has been transferred to the 60-day IL while Drew Maggi has been optioned to the minors, but will stay with the team as the 27th man for today’s double header in Washington.
Andujar has made a solid start to the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, slashing .284/.364/.500 through his first 99 plate appearances. The former AL Rookie of the Year runner up is earning $1.53MM this year as an arbitration-eligible player. He came over to the Pirates from the Yankees last season, but hit just .250/.275/.389 in 40 plate appearances down the stretch. Andujar will likely provide cover off the bench as an option to play first and third base as well as corner outfield. He’s in the lineup for today’s game, batting sixth and starting in right.
Maggi, 34 next month, was one of the feel good stories of the season after getting his first big league callup following 13 seasons in the minor leagues. Drafted in the 15th round of the 2010 draft, Maggi had toiled away in the Pirates system ever since but was finally rewarded with a big league call. He only tallied four plate appearances across two games, failing to notch a big league hit and striking out once. He may well get one more chance at that, with Maggi sticking around to serve as the team’s 27th man for the double header against the Nationals today.
As for Crowe, he landed on the IL with shoulder discomfort during the week but the fact that the team has quickly transferred him to the 60-day indicates that the issue may well be more serious than first thought. Crowe had worked to a 4.66 ERA across 9 2/3 innings out of the Bucs’ bullpen this season.
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Yay!
all in the suit that you wear
I just happened to see him hit a homerun.
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Me too!
User 3180623956
His HoF career begins now!
Fever Pitch Guy
grnmt – Just my humble opinion, I think Miguel has had a decent start to his Pirates career.
User 3180623956
FPG- I agree. I hope he kills it in Pittsburgh. I love when players excel after being let go/traded by the team that drafted them.
StudWinfield
Finally going to get the everyday AB’s in the majors that he has been cheated out of his whole career.
CaptainJudge99
Agreed. Let’s see what Andy can really do with some quality at bats, finally. No reason why he can’t rake. I wouldn’t mind having his bat in that Yankee line-up right now.
wilhar8
If the Yankees can play Calhoun and Cordero in the outfield why couldn’t they have given Miguel more reps? Obviously defense isn’t what the Yanks are looking for and everyone knows the offense he’d give you when he gets consistent play.
utah cornelius
They got rid of Andujar long before this season, when Calhoun and Cordero came along.
StudWinfield
@wilhar8, is this a serious question?
Rick Pernell
“….will likely provide cover off the bench…”
How did you ever interpret that to mean everyday at bats?
My kindergarten teacher always said, “Reading id fundamental.”
CaptainJudge99
@Pernell- Well, maybe you take everything written down here to heart, I for sure don’t. That is the difference between you and me. Congratulations, in regards to your Kindergarten teacher. How’s lst grade going this year?
Viveleempireevil
LOL!!!
StudWinfield
My bad. There’s no sarcasm font. Even Yankee fans like to troll Yankee fans on occasion.
Unfortunately, having Miggy back in NY probably would improve the OF production.
CaptainJudge99
@Stud- Very interesting. You wouldn’t take Andujar back right now if you could give away Calhoun, Hicks and Cordero to get him? I would in a heartbeat. Let’s face it Andujar never really got the at bats with the Yankees that he needed to prove anything, so I strongly disagree with you. I mean give the guy a chance. Hopefully the Pirates do.
StudWinfield
Do I think, today, that Miggy would be more productive than the assemblege of ass that they are throwing in LF right now? Sure but I still don’t think he’s a starter on a good team or even an average producer. I’d still be betting on Cabrera’s upside for now. I’d give Florial another shot if Hicks and Calhoun are going to continue flat lining. I also would have preferred keeping Cordero over Hicks and Calhoun but I understand optioning him is the easiest move right now.
YankeesBleacherCreature
What is Brett Gardner up to these days? Meanwhile, Florial is crushing it in AAA.
mlb fan
I’m as happy for Andujar as anyone, since I’ve watched him closely since he broke in as a ROY, runner up(Ohtani), 3bman with the Yankees. But the cruel realities of MLB and life, is NOT being “Cheated”.
TheMan 3
It was only a matter of time before Andujar was recalled and Maggi demoted though not immediately.
They kept CSN on the parent club because he had a tremendous spring yet it didn’t carry over to the regular season and Andujar has
been good offensively at Indy.
While I feel bad for Maggi, the Pirates are playing better than expected and need to continue
Andujar is a better option since he plays outfield, 3rd and first base
jopeness
I hope he continues to hit and makes it impossible to send him back down. Pirates down the stretch last year were starting to put things together, I don’t think many thought they’d be 4th in runs scored (NL) entering May. I think finally getting that extension done sends a good message this early in the season. With Reynolds and Clutch in club house is good for the young players.
CaptainJudge99
@TheMan 3- It’s funny you say that. Andujar isn’t going to hurt you with his bat. I’d love to see him get 500 at bats in a season. No reason why he couldn’t hit 25-30 homers a year. I truly wouldn’t mind having him back on the Yankees with their no offense show.
TheMan 3
If Andujar does produce offensively he might be a player traded at the deadline due to him being arbitration eligible while expecting a significant increase this winter
YourDreamGM
If he’s doing well the Pirates are going to want him for the playoffs.
Old York
Yankees gave up on the future HOFer.
CravenMoorehead
Refsnyder? 🙂
stymeedone
Andujar may be played at OF, 3B, or 1B, but it doesn’t mean he can actually play any of them well.
TheMan 3
Castro has already committed 4 errors and is second on the team with strikeouts but plays virtually every game with Cruz gone until August
CaptainJudge99
Yes, Andy isn’t a good glover, and never will be, but he definitely has enough power to perform in any line-up, given the at bats he gets. I definitely wish him my best in Pittsburgh. Good guy.
CaptainJudge99
*gold
Camden453
It doesn’t matter. On a team that needs offense you can put him at LF
wilhar8
Yes, but he can give you short bursts at all and privide you with offense. think of him as the Yankees Lamieau, but Miggy isn’t the defensive player Lamieau is but he can move around in many positions.
Ace_
Bob Nutting is underrated.
DCartrow
bob nutting sounds like a tea-bagging prank gone painfully wrong.
Ace_
Greatest of all time.
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Put that on Urban Dictionary
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I’m rooting for Miggy. He has by far one of the weirdest career trajectories of all time, but I hope he puts it together and has a decent and lucrative enough career after that rookie campaign made it look like he was gonna be a big part of the Show.
mlb fan
“Miggy”..There’s only ONE “Miggy” and he plays in Detroit, not Pittsburg.
Buuba ho tep
ITS PITTSBURGH NOT PITTSBURG MORON
chuck123
That’s the final piece – Pirates make the playoffs
LordD99
Never been the same since the shoulder surgery. A shame.
Camden453
Andujar will hit. Yankees messed up his career because Cashman doesn’t understand who the better players are. They keep going to Hicks when they could have had Andujar in LF
utah cornelius
I thought he got injured and never totally recovered, as in his bat never recovered after his body did. Am I misremebring. Same thing with Clint, right?
CaptainJudge99
@Camden453- I sometimes don’t agree with you, but what you just said made so much sense. I agree with you 100%. Great call!
pinstripes17
Wrong again, Andujar hasn’t been the same since he had shoulder surgery. He’s a quad A guy at this point. Too good for the minors but not good enough for the majors.
CaptainJudge99
@pinstripes17- wrong again? My fellow Yankee fan we’re you one of the Yankees fans that didn’t want Bryan Reynolds on the Yankees? Asking because last season we could of got him in a package involving Oswald Peraza. He (Reynolds)wouldn’t be looking too bad in the outfield for us right now with Stanton AND Judge out, right? Smh and lmk, thnx.
Melchez17
LOL, Rookie of the Year Runner Up. Are you Yankee fans still upset Ohtani beat him out? I don’t recall John Means or Soroka being referred to as Rookie of the Year Runner Up. Yankee fans only use it when they feel slighted.
Lord knows you would never refer to Andrew Benitendi as Rookie of the Year Runner Up because Judge beat him out.
Yankee fans are clowns.
Maybe it’s because Andjur has no other accomplishments besides being runner up?
Joe says...
Seems more important to you than it does to us.
Melchez17
Seems like it’s far more important to Yankee fans… they are the ones calling him “Rookie of the Year Runner Up”. I’m just laughing at you.
Joe says...
We hold importance in your world Melch. Sorry but you don’t really mean anything to us.
utah cornelius
@Melchez: Except that the ROY runner-up thing almost never comes up, yet here you are bringing it up just so you can take the opportunity of a Yankee comment thread to bash Yankee fans. See my comment below.
Melchez17
I was busy taking a dump… did I miss anything?
Melchez17
EVERY time Andujar’s name is mentioned at MLBTR, he is referred to as Rookie of the Year Runner Up. It’s a recurring joke on here. Are you new here?
Melchez17
Second paragragh… I didn’t bring it up.
“The former AL Rookie of the Year runner up “
DCartrow
The toilet?
Melchez17
Yep. It was very loose. We had tacos last night. Those wet burritos do a number on me.
TheMan 3
or maybe because he’s been injured in every season since his rookie year that explains why he doesn’t have any other accomplishments
Something suggests that you don’t research players before posting ridiculous comments
Melchez17
Other Rookie of the Year Runner Ups have not had injuries? Hmmm, looks like someone has done his research. LOL
utah cornelius
All TheMan 3 is saying, I believe, is that Andujar DID once have significant potential, as the ROY runner-up proves. And the only time the ROY runner-up comes up is when someone like you trashes Yankee fans for thinking Andujar had value. Because he did. So if people like you would stop bringing up Andujar and those old trade proposals, then we can stop talking about the ROY runner-up thing. See?
TheMan 3
Thank you Utah, apparently you don’t suffer from reading comprehension like others do and understood what I was saying
Melchez17
Juan Soto was runner up… he had potential too.
Melchez17
Second paragraph… I didn’t bring it up.
“The former AL Rookie of the Year runner up “
utah cornelius
Another Yankee fan bashing trope. The only time I’ve ever seen a Yankee fan bring up Andujar’s ROY runner-up status, and it’s rare, is occasionally when a commenter of your persuasion brings up, for the zillionth time, those 3-4 year old lopsided Andujar/Frazier trade proposals put out there by like two guys (I was here, so I remember). As if 1) fans of other teams never make lopsided trade proposals, 2) NYY fans continue to exclusively make ALL the most glaringly lopsided trade proposals ALL THE TIME, and 3) the entire Yankee fanbase makes those lopsided trade proposals. None of which is true. The ROY runner-up point is raised, again, occasionally, to point out that Andujar, like Frazier, DID show serious promise, but were then taken down by injury. In most cases, players recover from injury just fine, so it was reasonable to assume, as those two Yankee fans did when making those lopsided trade proposals, that Andujar and Frazier still had significant potential. By the way, this offseason, as with ALL offseasons, I saw many lopsided trade proposals put out there by many non-Yankee fans. No one ever said, for example, “oh, those Reds fans always think their prospects/players are worth so much.” Nobody ever says anything like that unless it’s a Yankee fan making the proposal. And I rarely see Yankee fans making trade proposals of any kind, by the way. Which is why when a commenter repeats this trope, that Yankee fans overvalue their prospects/players more than other fans, they have to dig back years and pull Andujar and Frazier out of the hat. Because there really aren’t much in the way of recent examples. I think a Master’s thesis on this subject–Do Yankee fans overvalue their prospects/players more than other fans?–would prove that the whole thesis is, in fact, weak sauce. Because I’ve paid close attention and I just don’t buy the evidence that’s been presented. It all mostly comes down to Andujar and Frazier, from 3-4 years ago, represented in the trade proposals repeatedly made by a couple of commenters. Generalizing from a small sample. And most times no evidence at all is offered. The claim is made without any evidence at all.
Melchez17
Second paragraph… I didn’t bring it up.
“The former AL Rookie of the Year runner up “
Melchez17
The Rays are 23 and 5 now… I remember when the Tigers started out 35 and 5. It seemed like they never lost. The Rays have that same feeling.
toomanyblacksinbaseball
Nice “look” for Maggi. Cheating Carlos Correa crappy bat is producing nothing.
Acura Dude
I’m honestly not a big fan of this move unless he’s going to platoon somehow with Suwinski (and I’d be willing to give Suwinski more playing time against LHP to develop him there). Connor Joe is the better RH option. The Pirates also have Travis Swaggerty (currently on the minor league IL with illness) who needs to get some ABs soon. You can’t really send down Mathias since you need a utility infielder (unless you count Bae as your utility INF, but IMO he should be the everyday 2B with Castro at SS) for now).
Swaggerty is the one they need to evaluate at the MLB level. You already know what you have in Andujar to some extent. Yes, this is a nice promotion based on his success, but IMO he is a good candidate to either be DFA’d if he doesn’t perform or get swapped for something if he does (like another lefty reliever so you don’t burn out Jose Hernandez).
Crowe to the 60-day is concerning. I get a feeling the overuse from last season is really starting to catch up to him.
TheMan 3
Actually Swaggerty should have made the major league roster after having a productive spring training and I was disappointed they chose CSN instead
Suwinski is horrible against lefties and probably should get more playing time against them however this is a team that’s playing well with platooning the outfield.
Acura Dude
Definitely agree about Swaggerty in the spring, especially as he is the superior defender and possibly our best defensive OF. I’d like to see him in CF with Suwinski in RF (which he played well last year) and Reynolds in LF, with Cutch at DH or spelling Suwinski against a tough LHP, working Joe in there as well when someone needs a breather or the matchup works (and at 1B).
Might also be a good idea to DFA Choi when he comes back.
YourDreamGM
Swaggerty can’t even handle good AAA pitching. He is right where he needs to be.
mlb1225
I get wanting to see Swaggerty, but guys like Swaggerty and CSN need consistent ABs. At least with Andujar, you’re not stalling any potential development he could make in the major leagues by only giving him 4-8 plate appearances a week.
TheMan 3
Bae doesn’t belong in center field, he’s more of a middle infielder.
Swaggerty should be in center instead
Jim Thome is my homie
They wouldn’t make Bae a late inning replacement in CF if he couldn’t play the position.
Would you prefer Swaggerty to sit the bench 5 of 6 games a week in MLB, or be playing those games in AAA? If he did get called up it would be to replace CSN, and that’s currently what he’s doing.
TheMan 3
Bae has already committed 3 errors playing center field, and does play there due to his speed
Swaggerty is a former #1 pick and is 25 years old
Mathias should be a defensive replacement and not an everyday player
Bae is better suited for 2nd base
Doug
I still think Andujar could be a 25HR, .275 AVG guy if just given a steady chance.
YourDreamGM
Not much playing time right now but if he hits they should find some for him.
CaptainJudge99
@Doug- I think you are 100% correct with your comments regarding Andujar. I was basically thinking the same thing. It definitely sounds like fans like @Pernell don’t get out of the house that much, and get some needed sunlight, unfortunately. They do a disservice, by being totally ignorant and believing everything they read. Smh
User 4095290658
You need to face the fact that you were dead wrong with your original comment. Andujar will be no more than an occasional bench bat unless at least two players get hurt. Some of us watch every Bucs game and therefore have much better background knowledge than you as a casual observer with a NYY obsession.
utah cornelius
NYY obsession? So somehow being a Yankee fan is an obsession, while being a Pirate fan is not, or something? Chuckle.
CaptainJudge99
@UC- Pirate fans in general are off the hook. TheMan 3- is a pretty cool dude though. I respect the loyalty and passion of the Pittsburgh fans. Nothing with going all out for your favorite team. I wish Pirate fans my absolute best. It’s all good!
utah cornelius
For the record, I think Andujar still has to prove he can be a productive hitter at the MLB. I wouldn’t assume that he will be if given the ABs. And, as you said, there is no reason to believe that he will be given a large number of ABs. He’s going to have to tantalize with a small number of ABs before he gets any significant number of ABs. If getting a lot of ABs is the only way he can prove he can be a really productive hitter, then, I believe, it’s still going to be a problem.
CaptainJudge99
@Terrier1980- I totally disagree with you. If Andujar was on the Yankees he would be starting in left field right now. I’m going to really ticked off if it’s August lst and Aaron Hicks is still a Yankee. It’s hard for me to even believe when Harrison Bader comes back, that Hicks has a spot on the roster. Nobody needs to be DFA’d more then him. $33 mill over 3 years? Who cares? Bye, bye!
utah cornelius
He still has to prove it. You’re almost right. If he were on the Yankees, he SHOULD start. But with Cashman, Hicks still might get 20-40% of the ABs. SHOULD is different from WOULD, because you can’t count on Cashman to do the right thing. The point I was making, however, is that it’s been too long since Andujar proved he could hit in the major leagues to say with certainty that he would be a strong hitter given the ABs now. It’s possible, but it’s not a given. That was my point.
User 4095290658
@CaptainJudge99 You commented at the top of this thread in agreement with another poster, that it will be good to see Andujar finally get regular at bats in the majors after his promotion to Pittsburgh. It was pointed to you both that it says in the article that Miguel will be a bench bat for the Bucs.
For some reason you doubted the knowledge of not only the author of the piece, but observations of everyday Pirates fans. Your ignorance/arrogance is off the charts.`
Nobody cares if Andujar would start in the OF for the Yankees – it’s an article about the Pirates.
Buccrazy
A common sense move that many of us saw coming days ago. Already productive in 1 AB. Happy Maggi was able to get a couple more games in his MLB career because of the rain delay
joew
Glad he is back up. Hopefully he can get PA’s nearly every game for a while to see whats up.
cornwhisperer
But let’s hope they keep him here. He’s a guy who is not a vet like Cutch but also, not a rookie or the next wave that’s on the cusp.
In other words, the guy has both experience and youth that can help a team that looks like it might contend
From the comments of Yanks fans like @CaptainJudge99, all he needs is the opportunities and at bats
TheMan 3
who would you send down in order to keep Maggi on the parent club?
Marcano would probably be that player if they did keep him because he’s another that needs consistent playing time
Jim Thome is my homie
Andujar will probably help out the outfield/dh, and let Joe help at 1st since Choi is still not expected back for a couple of months. Santana needs to be kept fresh, he’s playing at a level we need him at for the long term.
We all thought he was a rental to flip, but at this point he’s here all season.
Andujar was big in the first game. Let’s hope he can produce when called upon again.
I still think we need to keep adding well before the deadline, and go after a bullpen arm, preferably left handed.
TheMan 3
Yesterday during the 2nd game, it was announced that Santana has approached the management about an extension, as he’d like to stay in Pittsburgh another season
jimmyz
Would love to see another lefty added to the pen. At some point mid-season or so Jarlin Garcia should be healthy which could be a nice in house addition. So far it seems like Jose Hernandez might be a huge steal from the rule 5 draft. There’s definitely aspects to his game to work on and iron out but the early returns are astounding. 11.2 innings with an 11:1 K/BB rate, under 1 WHIP, and a 1.76 FIP is insane for a guy who only had about 3/4 of a year at AA as the highest level he reached prior to the season. Lefty that throws upper 90’s with a solid slider and had no big league service time for free is one heck of a deal.
Yanks4life22
No excuse Hicks is getting AB’s still and guys like Andujar and Florial had to ride the DFA bus.