With the way that the Yankees Colombian third baseman is playing this season, the Yankees can not afford to take Gio Urshela out of the lineup.
Miguel Andújar is off to a slow start since coming back from a small tear in his right labrum so the Yankees cannot rely upon him just yet. Andújar is batting .156 and has an on-base percentage of .333 at the time of writing, and in his first game back from injury, he had two errors, half as many as Urshela had while Andújar was injured.
Urshela is having a great run as replacement third baseman, and the Yankees need to keep in the hot hand.
At the time of writing, Gio Urshela is hitting .346, has an on-base percentage of .409, and has the fourth-most double plays turned as the third baseman with eight.
Although this may be seen as overachieving, the Yankees will take all the help they can get from any place they can get it. With the lengthy list of players that have hit the Injured List this season, Urshela has been quite the help with the way he has been hitting. Not only has he been consistent, but he has come up clutch.
In the second game of the Yankees’ four-game series against the Seattle Mariners, Urshela hit a two-out game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth that sparked a rally, and DJ LeMahieu completed the comeback with a game-winning single in the same inning.
In the series finale against the Mariners, Andújar started, and Urshela entered in the sixth inning. Urshela hit a bases loaded two-out two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to extend the Yankees’ lead to 3-0. This proved to be the game-winning hit, as the Mariners’ Domingo Santana hit a solo shot in the ninth inning, which would have tied the game if not for Urshela.
After Miguel Andujar grounded weakly back to the mound (68.8 mph exit velo) to end the sixth, Gio Urshela has entered to play third. Andujar is now 0 for his last 15.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) May 10, 2019
Andújar needs to be in the lineup, as he needs to get back in his form from last year, but Urshela also needs to be in the lineup. When Urshela entered, he made an instant impact, making his case to keep playing regularly.
Gio Urshela is in the game at third, and he looks alright. He also made this play look easy. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/1bcI2CzNl3
— Tom Hanslin (@TomHanslin) May 10, 2019
Gio Urshela is one of the bright spots of this Yankees team, and until Andújar gets into his stride, Urshela needs to be in the lineup.
Featured Image: Kathy Willens- Associated Press
