Per a team release, the Yankees have selected the contract of INF Giovanny Urshela from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and signed him to a major league contract. INF Thairo Estrada will head back to Scranton, while SS Didi Gregorius heads to the 60-day DL to make room for Urshela on the 40-man.
Long regarded as a premier hot-corner defender, Urshela will look to offer much-needed stability to a Yankee infield in shambles. With Gregorius, Miguel Andujar and the ever-fragile Troy Tulowitzki on the shelf, the club has been furiously plugging holes – Estrada and Tyler Wade were summoned from Triple-A, and Gold Glove second baseman DJ LeMahieu was uprooted from his natural habitat to help fill the void at third.
The 27-year-old Urshela has been an out-making specialist in the big leagues, slashing just .225/.274/.315 over 499 career MLB plate appearances. The 2018 late-season Yankee acquisition also spent time in the Blue Jays and Indians systems last year, where he slashed a combined .286/.326/.393 in 240 PA. Since 2014’s AAA breakout, where the Colombian clubbed 60 extra-base hits in a full-season’s worth of plate appearances, Urshela hasn’t found much success at the dish.
It was a brief big-league stay for Estrada (he didn’t once make it to the plate for the Bombers), who’s a well-regarded utility prospect in some circles. A gunshot wound and surgery-gone-wrong destroyed his 2018 campaign, so the 23-year-old will hope to patch things up in the season to come.
I guess he’s the missing piece.
Yea could be a good fill in , too bad the red Sox can’t find a starting pitcher that can keep the ball in the yard , lol
Crucial to get Refsnyder back.
What is Dead may never die.
Get him back and trade him for a starting pitcher.
Very insightful Bob. Try some new idea going forward…how about replacing Rob with someone from last years team? This will be helpful so that you do. To develop a reputation of being old and senile.
Good luck to Giovanny. He has talent. Hope he does well for the Yankees.
Talent with the glove, but too light hitting to be the answer.
If/when I see him in a Yankees uniform I just may puke.
Not me, I’ll laugh that the Evil Empire thought he was the answer.
This shows how Cash and Boone do things. Why call up Thairo and then change your mind and send the poor kid back ?
Exactly. At least let him get to the plate once before sending him back.
All teams do this throughout the season. It’s called a cup of coffee.
after what he went through last year it is kinda cruel.
Cruel? We are talkin baseball!
Pleeeeeeeeease! This is the New York Yankees…It’s a cup of Boom Choca-Latte Decaffeinated Arabacan Expresso…..
Come on, I highly doubt the Yankees are the first team to do something like this to a player or that they will be the last.,
Just someone attempting to troll.
Mariners did it with Ryne Harper as a 29 year old Rookie brought him up then designated him for assignment without debuting thats cold
They needed a warm body as an emergency infielder and he was the only one on the 40. He needs to play everyday and get some at bats after missing most of last season, so they sent him back. Nice that he got a taste of big league life. Now he can go to AAA and work hard to get back. Urshela is more or less disposable. He’s on his last option and will likely be jettisoned when Tulo or Andujar return.
Problem is those guys aren’t coming back this season.
He already had a combined full year of MLB service, no need for “a taste of big league life” for inspiration. If he hasn’t gotten it by now he never will.
The poor kid is richer for having one day of service on an mlb roster. That plus being in a clubhouse and dugout for a mlb game gives home inventive to keep developing his skills.
Looks like the Yankees decided to be the injury-ridden NY team this year
Maybe Estrada got a splinter sitting on the bench?
Can Tyler Austin play third?
Somehow out making and slashing shouldn’t be in the same sentence.
You DO know what this “/” is called, don’t you??
“Long regarded as a premier hot-corner defender” can only show up in a yankee article when talking about a guy with less than 500 major league at bats.
Well he is. He is a premier fielder with the glove and just doesn’t hit enough to get him into the lineup full time.
Urshella had a really nice spring and looked like the big leagues could be his home for a while…