Brandon Drury has been reinstated from his rehab assignment, but he won’t be joining the New York Yankees yet. He has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Brandon Drury was sidelined with migraines and blurred vision due to a pinched nerve in his neck after only playing in eight games with the New York Yankees.
According to the Yankees PR Department, Drury has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, effectively solidifying Miguel Andujar’s place as the everyday third baseman—for the time being.
Drury’s optioning to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shouldn’t be seen as a demotion or any indication that the front office doubts his abilities. They are—wisely—playing the slow game with Drury.
The Yankees can afford to take their time with Drury due to the rookies who are bursting onto the scene at the big league level. Andujar has filled in admirably for Drury with a slash line of .282/.296/.458 and his defense isn’t stellar, but he makes the plays he needs to make.
Drury can also play some second base, but that position has been effectively locked down for the foreseeable future by Gleyber Torres. The Venezuelan rookie has a slash line of .319/.360/.493 and he looks like he has the potential to become a gold glove second baseman.
Of course, Drury certainly isn’t done in pinstripes and his return to the big league level will come sooner rather than later. So that begs the question: Who will he replace? Injuries could play a factor in this decision, but if not, the front office will have tough questions to answer.
They could decide to send Andujar down for more seasoning if he starts slumping, but as of now, his job looks relatively safe. Neil Walker is somewhat expendable as he’s only on a one year deal, but he’s starting to get hot and he is seemingly in the middle of every big rally during this recent hot streak. And fans may not want to hear this, but Ronald Torreyes’ future could be in jeopardy. He is a jack-of-all-trades that can play three different positions in the infield, but does he have enough hitting to warrant a spot on the 25-man roster when the team is loaded with this much talent?