New York Yankees: 3 players with most pressure to succeed in 2020

3 Yankees with the most pressure to succeed

Miguel Andujar

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

When Miguel Andujar arrived in 2018, he promptly became a fan-favorite. Defensively, there wasn’t a worse third baseman in the game. However, offensively, Andujar worked his way up to the runner-up to the AL Rookie of the Year award.

In 2019, Andujar joined a group of New York Yankees players in setting a record for most players on the injured list. As a result, Andujar only managed to appear in 12 games, providing an opportunity for Gio Urshela.

In Urshela, the Yankees found the type of defensive player required to play the hot corner. What’s more, unlike in previous seasons, Gio also managed to find his bat, slashing a career-high .315 / .355 / .534.

This spring, Andujar will get an opportunity to compete to get his job back at third base, but the likely option is that he will take over DJ LeMahieu‘s previous with the team as the super-utility. Not only will Miggy have to show that he’s a competent defender at third, but he’ll also have to prove that he can man other infield positions as well.

In these three players facing pressure this coming season, the New York Yankees have a good problem in their hands. It shows that the team has great depth and the loss of one player can only mean that another, capable player waits in the wings.

With Spring Training games set to kick off in just 21 days, as a fan of the team, I can’t wait to see how the season unfolds.