Fans everywhere are waiting for Major League Baseball to return. But for Miguel Andujar, the wait feels even longer.
After a sensational rookie season in which he hit 27 home runs, Andujar missed just about all of 2019 due to shoulder problems, including being diagnosed with a torn labrum in mid-May.
Now that pro baseball is on pause, Andujar is itching to finally make his return to the field, and he's ready to prove he's entirely healthy as well.
"I feel great. I am working out five days a week building strength, working with the trainers, exercising and doing my best to stay sharp,'' Andujar wrote in an email exchange with George King of the New York Post. 'It's been almost a year since my injury and I feel 100 percent. I am very happy where I am at physically. For a while I was working out away from (Steinbrenner Field) with a trainer, hitting and staying sharp. I am back at the complex doing everything I can to prepare myself.''
The runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year in 2018, Andujar slashed .297/.328/.527 that season, seemingly securing the third base spot for the Yankees for years to come. But after he went down due to injury last season, Gio Urshela stepped in and produced in a big way, slashing .314/.355/.534 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI.
So when Andujar finally does make his return to the field, where exactly will it be? Sure, he could be the Yankees' regular DH, but he could also rotate with Luke Voit at first base and get in some reps in left field as well, which would allow Giancarlo Stanton (if healthy) to get some run as DH as well.
The 25-year-old Andujar has only ever played third base (and DH) during his MLB career, but if becoming more versatile as a utility man for the Yankees is what it takes to get him on the field, he's more than willing.
"I am ready to play wherever the team needs me. I am ready to play, period," Andujar told the Post. "I've continued to prepare to play any position I am asked to play.
"I look at it as having a number of doors open for me. They are all opportunities for me to play and I am going to try to take advantage of everything that is presented to me.''
Video: BNNY welcomes Jason Giambi to the Living Room