Less than two weeks until Opening Day and the New York Yankees lineup looks ready to go after ironing out their infield picture.
After signing veteran second baseman Neil Walker to a one-year, $4 million deal, it was a foregone conclusion that top prospect Gleyber Torres would be heading back to the minors.
On Mar. 14, that’s exactly what happened as they optioned him to triple-A, ending a disappointing spring in which he was competing for playing time at second alongside Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes.
In 11 spring-training games prior to the Yankees optioning him, Torres batted just .160.
Fellow youngster and infielder Miguel Andujar looked as though he had a better chance to make the MLB roster after a fast start to his spring. Through Mar. 1, which was 12 at-bats, Andujar was batting .500 with four home runs and making a serious charge at taking some time away from the newly-acquired Brandon Drury, who came over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade.
In the ensuing two weeks though, Andujar’s average plummeted to .262 while stuck at the four-home-run mark. His defense was also rough around the edges, which forced the Yankees to option the 23-year-old on Sunday.
With the two promising prospects out of the MLB picture, for now, it looks as though the Yankees’ imposing lineup is set for the 2018 season:
Yankees 2018 projected starting lineup
1. Brett Gardner- LF
2. Aaron Judge- RF
3. Giancarlo Stanton- DH
4. Gary Sanchez- C
5. Didi Gregorius- SS
6. Greg Bird- 1B
7. Neil Walker- 2B
8. Aaron Hicks- CF
9. Brandon Drury- 3B
