Brandon Drury deserves to be on a Major League roster, but the Yankees are too stacked with talent to fit him on theirs at the moment.
When Brandon Drury first went on the disabled list with migraine headaches and blurred vision he was the Yankees starting third basemen. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, a lot has changed since he left New York’s lineup.
Mainly, Miguel Andujar was called up and he’s claimed the starting job at third for his own. His stats aren’t all that different from what Drury was producing before he went on the DL, but the Yankees do believe he has a higher ceiling. That’s why his .282 average and three home runs are enough to keep Drury at bay.
In fact, the Yankees are so comfortable with Andujar’s play at the hot corner that they’ve elected to leave Drury in the minors. He hit .315 with two home runs during his 20-day rehab stint but that’s not good enough to get him back to the Bronx. Instead, he’ll continue his time in AAA for the foreseeable future.
Drury’s opportunity to return to the big league club is also negatively impacted by the Yankees’ decision to keep 13 pitches on their active roster. That only leaves room for three bench players. Austin Romine has a place locked up as Aaron Boone’s backup catcher. That leaves just Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Austin as the manager’s other options off the bench. It seems that Boone prefers their positional versatility to Drury’s proven track record.
It’s reasonable to think Drury’s status with the club will be clarified in the near future. It’s very possible he comes back up to replace Torreyes once the team’s front office is convinced his injury issues are behind him. If he doesn’t replace Torreyes soon, he will quickly become an attractive trade chip for Brian Cashman.
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No matter how you see it, Drury’s recover from injury is a good thing for the Yankees. He’ll either strengthen their bench soon or help Cashman swing a deal to bring a more promising long-term prospect to the organization.