The Miguel Andujar era is officially, officially over in New York, as he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Andujar had been designated for assignment Thursday when the Yankees activated Zack Britton off the 60-day injured list, and the Yankees announced Pittsburgh’s claim just before Sunday night’s series finale with the Red Sox.
Once a Rookie of the Year runner-up nicknamed “Miggy Missiles” and “Miggy Two Bags,” Andujar slashed 297/.328/.527 with 27 homers, 92 RBI, and a rookie-record 47 doubles in 2018, but injured his shoulder in 2019 and seemingly never recovered.
The injury, combined with Gio Urshela’s success in his place, led the Yankees to turn Andujar into a utility player and primarily a left fielder, and he was up-and-down between the majors and Triple-A over the last three seasons.
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Since his rookie breakout, he has played just 105 games in pinstripes, hitting .228 with eight homers, and this year he slashed .229/.250/.281 with one home run over 27 games in pinstripes.
The Pirates are not headed to the postseason, but they will have a week-plus to plug Andujar into their lineup – Pittsburgh has been using a the quarter of rookies Calvin Mitchell and Jack Suwinski and ex-Yankees Greg Allen and Ben Gamel in the outfield corners and at DH of late – and will have him as an arbitration-eligible player potentially through 2025.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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