Clint Frazier called up; Drury remains in Yankees' plans
WASHINGTON (AP) The Yankees recalled outfielder Clint Frazier from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to give them an extra bat during a two-game series at the Washington Nationals and said Brandon Drury is not out of their long-term plans.
New York opted to keep rookie Miguel Andujar at third, and Drury was optioned to the RailRiders on Monday after finishing an injury rehabilitation assignment. The 25-year-old started seven of New York's first eight games, then went on the disabled list due to severe migraines that caused blurry vision.
''He's a major leaguer currently having to be assigned to Triple-A just given the fact that we have a pretty strong roster right now,'' general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday. ''I guess stay tuned. I know he's hungry. He feels the best he's felt in a long time.''
Drury hit .315 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 11 games with Scranton and six with Double-A Trenton as part of the rehab assignment.
''He's absolutely an option for us right now,'' manager Aaron Boone said. ''We would have no hesitation bringing him up. Couple the fact with how we've been playing and Andujar's role in all that, we just felt like this what we needed to do right now.''
Andujar is batting .282 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 33 games entering Tuesday, and leads major league rookies in multi-hit games (13) and extra-base hits (16). The Yankees are 23-7 in his starts since he took over as the team's primary third baseman.
Drury hit .217 with a home run and four RBIs in eight games with the Yankees. He was acquired from Arizona in February after serving as the Diamondbacks' primary second baseman last year.
''Now that he's feeling that he's crossed this threshold, maybe we acquired a player that's even better than the player we thought we were acquiring,'' Cashman said
Right-hander David Hale was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Frazier, who sustained a concussion in a Feb. 26 spring training game. Frazier hit .323 with four homers and five RBIs in 16 games at Class A Tampa.
Frazier made his big league debut last July and hit .231 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 39 games.
''I think I'm more excited to play my first game back than I was to debut last year,'' Frazier said. ''It was a lot harder to come back from that than it was to make it to the big leagues last year. ... It was just a life-changing moment that I went through. It altered every part of my day. Not just baseball, but my outside living situation. It was tough to battle back because I didn't know where the finish line was going to be. There were days I woke up and was like `Is it going to end or is it not?'''
Frazier's stay could be brief. After Wednesday, the Yankees don't play at an NL ballpark until June 8-10 at he New York Mets.
''We've gone all year so far with the extra pitching to try to protect our starters,'' Cashman said. ''I think that's probably in our best interest, so it could be a short-term situation.''
Hale was claimed off waivers April 26 from Minnesota and was 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two games with the Yankees.
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