The New York Yankees have plenty of outfield depth heading into the postseason, especially with the expected return of Andrew Benintendi at some point. They also have Aaron Hicks as a primary reserve option and have found incredible value in Oswaldo Cabrera.
Cabrera has been one of the best defensive players on the team this season over a 31-game sample size since being called up. Offensively, he’s hitting .225 with a 29.3% on-base rate, including three homers with 15 RBIs. In fact, over Cabrera’s last seven games, he’s recorded eight hits, eight runs, and two homers.
- Yankees finally drop reserve outfielder after disappointing showing
- Yankees activate Zack Britton, place Wandy Peralta on IL
- Yankees reinstate deadline acquisition Scott Effross from IL
The Yankees move on from Miguel Andujar:
Unfortunately, Cabrera’s success ultimately spells trouble for other reserve options, notably Miguel Andujar, who was designated for assignment on Thursday afternoon.
Andujar has unfortunately underwhelmed offensively over 27 games for the Yankees this year, hitting .229 with a 25% on-base rate. Ever since his incredible 2018 season, when he hit .297 with a 32.8% on-base rate, Andujar has failed to reach his potential.
In the minors this year, Andujar hit .285 with a 33% on-base rate, 13 homers, and 51 RBIs. His metrics were solid in Triple-A, but his strikeout rate doubled when featuring at the MLB level, and his walk rate side landed at a measly 3%.
In addition, he didn’t offer enough defensively to justify keeping him on the roster any longer, as the Yankees would prefer to develop some of their younger options instead of having him take up a roster spot in Scranton. With that being said, Andujar can finally fulfill his desire to move on from the Bombers after requesting a trade earlier this season.
General manager Brian Cashman tried to look for a potential trade partner, but nobody was willing to give up anything significant for Miggy. He figured it would be better to have a reserve option available if need be, especially after the Yankees went through a lengthy spell of injuries.
When a player is designated for assignment, the player can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers within seven days. If the player is claimed off of waivers by another club, he is immediately added to the team’s 40-man roster. In the move, he is able to be optioned to the minor leagues or assigned to the team’s 26-man roster.
Since the trade deadline has already passed, the Yankees will likely outright wave Andujar, so he could be claimed by another club but also passed on and land back in the Yankees minor-league system.
More must-reads: