The New York Yankees have sent third base prospect Miguel Andujar to Triple-A, while outfielder Estevan Florial heads to their minor league camp.
New York Yankees prospect Miguel Andujar won’t win the job at third base as the team optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
No surprise here, but the Yankees have optioned INF Miguel Andújar to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and reassigned OF Estevan Florial to minor league camp.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 18, 2018
Andujar going to Triple-A clears the way for new acquisition Brandon Drury to start the season at third base. The Yankees also reassigned outfield prospect Estevan Florial to their minor league camp.
Even though Andujar had improved defensively, it wasn’t enough to win the job at the hot corner.
“He’s played great,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “The video I watched of him a lot this winter and the strides I’ve seen him make this spring, he’s been really solid over there.”
The third base prospect was hitting .262 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 14 games this spring. Last year he hit .315/.352/.498 with 36 doubles, 16 home runs, and 82 RBIs, leading all Yankee prospects in batting average and doubles. He was the favorite to win the job at third base but it appeared that he would not get it after the acquisition of Drury.
Florial, who is the Yankees number two prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, was hitting .231 with three triples and three RBI.
“He’s one of those guys throughout our organization, guys light up when they talk about him,” Boone said of Florial. “Special makeup, great kid. The tools just leap off the screen.”
Even though he’s not getting the job at third base, there is good news for Andujar. He was named the Yankees 2017 Minor League Player of the Year as he was a recipient of the 2017 Kevin Lawn Award. Right-hander Domingo Acevedo was also a recipient of the award after being named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Weird hour for Miguel Andujar. 24 minutes after being optioned to Triple-A, he was named the Yankees' 2017 Minor League Player of the Year.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 18, 2018
The Yankees now have 43 players left in camp. While Andujar is going to Triple-A for now, it won’t be long before he is in the majors.
