Yankees Rumors: Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks
In an effort to not only stabilize the starting pitching staff, the Yankees have also inquired about super-utility player Brandon Drury of the Diamondbacks.
On Tuesday, the rumor mill began to churn about the Yankees being interested in potentially acquiring left-handed starting pitcher Patrick Corbin from the Diamondbacks. One day later, and it looks like a deal could turn into a multi-player swap.
According to MLB.com, the Yankees have also inquired about the availability of super-utility man, Brandon Drury.
Dealing Drury would make sense, given the D-backs’ surplus of middle infielders, which includes Ketel Marte, Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Daniel Descalso.
Still only 25, Drury is a year away from arbitration and four years away from free agency. His low salary goes a long way towards the Yankees’ goal of staying under the $197 million luxury tax threshold for 2018.
What makes him even more valuable is that during the first three years of his career, the 13th round pick in 2010 has already played six different positions.
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As the D’backs’ everyday second baseman in 2017, Drury hit .267 with 37 doubles, 13 home runs and 63 RBI (92 wRC+).
The main downfalls to Drury’s game, that warrant’s consideration is his unbalanced 103:28 K:BB ratio, the fact that he made the 4th most errors of all NL second baseman in ’17 (10) and that his average fell 15 points, from .282 during his rookie season.
While it’s fair to attribute much of this to the constant unknown of where he’ll find his name on the lineup card each day, Drury could flourish in one constant position where he’d be allowed to prove himself, while guys like Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar further refine their skills at Triple-A Scranton.
Though scouts believe Drury’s best position is third base, Jake Lamb has all but made that impossible in Arizona. Those same scouts feel Drury has yet to hit his offensive ceiling, which is great news for any team that acquires him.
A number of clubs are already interested in acquiring Drury, so the Yanks will need to decide if he’ll offer more productivity than their current in-house alternatives.
Next: Fulmer and Corbin on Yanks' radar
Besides top prospects, Torres and Andujar — Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada are expected to fight for a job in camp this spring.