I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to record The Dugout Podcast on The Bleed Blue Show every week. It gives me the chance to voice my concerns, opinions and insights about everything Yankee. In this most recent podcast I shared my sentiments about Gio Urshela, who I absolutely treasure as a Yankee defender and he's got a great bat too. Coupled with my piece last week, HOW ABOUT GIO URSHELA AT SHORT?, I ranted about how Urshela and DJ LeMahieu anchor the Yankee infield and save runs every time they defend behind Yankee pitching. And now, there's even more evidence that Urshela could play more shortstop than originally intended.
Tuesday, Urshela played shortstop in the Yankee 7-4 win over Tigers. "It felt really good; better than I thought," Urshela said. "I had two ground balls and I feel really comfortable. I've been playing a lot in the shift, so I feel really good for my first day." Yankees manager Aaron Boone summarized Urshela's afternoon thusly: "Hit it to him and you're out," reported MLB.com. The Yankees simply cannot afford to give up runs to poor defense in the infield. And Gleyber Torres has not proven his ability to play shortstop consistently well or well enough in his first stint in 2020.
As Steve Azul put it on the podcast, Gleyber Torres just didn't have a good 2020. Not sure why- could be the shortened season, something got into his head, who knows. But if we want to keep his position at shortstop, he needs to earn it.
"Whenever Boonie needs to use me, I'll be there playing shortstop," Urshela said. "I've played second base in the past before. I've played first a couple of times, so I'll be ready to play any position when they need me," reported MLB.com. Urshela can play any position in the infield, giving the Yankees even more depth and flexibility.
The intentionality of Boone trying out Urshela at short is merely about testing out if he could back up Torres at short, not necessarily replace him. And with Miguel Andujar's scheduled to see a hand specialist after dealing with hand and wrist soreness in spring training, the Yankees could be one infielder short for this experiment to really come to fruition.
But there is one thing that is evident, hit the ball to Urshela and you're out! He is one of the most valuable Yankees we have and I am grateful I get to write about him, talk about him and watch him make a greater impact for his team in 2021.
--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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