Yankees must decide Brandon Drury’s big league fate

On Monday, Brandon Drury will enter his 20th day of rehab, and the Yankees must decide whether or not to promote him back to the 25-man roster. But at whose expense?

The Yankees big league roster crunch is a very real thing. And before it becomes a problem, the front office must decide who stays and who goes.

Brandon Drury, whom the Yanks acquired from the Diamondbacks during Spring Training, has been on the disabled list since April 7 due to migraine headaches and blurred vision.

Since commencing rehab, in 16 games spent at Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton, Drury is batting .315 (17-for-54) with 11 runs scored, two home runs and 17 RBI.

At 25, it’s clear to see that Drury’s ability as a ballplayer doesn’t warrant much more time in the minors. However, it’s not unheard of for an organization to “claim” a player suffered a setback in his rehab — therefore keeping them out of action for five days before restarting the 20-day rehab process over again.

Now, I’m not saying that’s what the Yankees will do this, but it’s worth taking a look at where Drury fits into the 25-man roster before handing him his opening day position back.

Miguel Andujar, who many have pegged as the Yanks’ third baseman of the future (if not present) has performed exceptionally well for a 23-year-old rookie, thrown to the wolves.

In 127 at-bats, Andujar is slashing .282/.296/.458 with 12 doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI. My biggest concern is his subpar OBP which has been a direct result of his shaky 28:3 K:BB ratio. Andujar still chases too many bad balls out of the strike zone, and this needs to be addressed.

For a guy that many considered all stick and no glove, Andujar has held his own at the hot corner, only making two errors in 56 chances while notching 32 assists for a .964 fielding percentage in 234 innings.

Heading into the season, my biggest hope for Andujar was for him to get enough of an opportunity to prove he’s big league worthy and therefore show the Yankees they don’t necessarily need to invest in a Manny Machado type (even if Machado would consider switching back to third base for the Bombers).

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I for one believe Andujar has already proven capable and so much more. However, he’s a rookie and before long, the dog days of summer will be upon us. Not to nitpick, but it’s been 13 games since Andujar has had an extra-base hit. Which is one of the reasons why the Yankees need to recall Drury from Triple-A and once again get him accustomed to facing major league pitching.

No one is saying the Yanks should bench Andujar for Drury, but healthy competition on a daily basis might be the best thing for both young players.

With first baseman Greg Bird and right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle potentially returning within three weeks time, the Yanks will need to say goodbye to three men currently holding down spots on the 25-man roster.

The simplest choice comes in the form of the club carrying one extra reliever. With A.J. Cole pitching two scoreless innings against the A’s on Saturday, he’d be my pick as the team’s long man until Adam Warren comes off the DL sometime in mid-June.

That would mean David Hale is likely to be DFA’d for the third time this season by the Yanks. For those that feel the club would never carry four bench players (Austin Romine, Ronald Torreyes, Neil Walker and Drury), aside from releasing a reliever, it’s the only logical solution. And this setup doesn’t include Clint Frazier, who I touted on Sunday as deserving his own promotion to the bigs.

Even after Bird returns, the Yanks will need a backup first baseman. And since Drury has exactly one-game of major league experience there (2016) — and Walker has been red-hot over the past 10 games, I don’t see the front office eating $4.5 million just for the sake of doing so.

The only other alternative would be designating fan-favorite Ronald Torreyes, which would probably create mass hysteria in the Bronx. The fact that Torreyes plays shortstop and continues to come up with clutch hits should keep him safe.

For those that think trading Drury is the way to go, forget it. He’s 25, is making a little over $600K this season and now that he’s wearing yellow tinted glasses, looks to have control over the vision problems that plagued him for much of his career.

Next: When will we see Clint Frazier in the Bronx?

Inevitably, it won’t be an easy decision for general manager Brian Cashman. But that’s why he get’s paid the big bucks.