Andújar returns with bang; Loaisiga deals

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Having spent most of his winter rehabbing and then incorporating workouts at new positions, Miguel Andújar waited to face live pitching until he reported for Spring Training. It took all of three Grapefruit League at-bats for the young Yankee to show off his familiar power stroke.

Andújar slugged a fifth-inning, opposite-field home run off Rays left-hander Anthony Banda in Sunday’s 9-7 loss at Charlotte Sports Park, an encouraging sign as the Yankees look for Andújar to prove that he has recovered from the right shoulder injury that cost him most of last season.

“First of all, thank God for the opportunity to be here and healthy,” Andújar said through an interpreter. “I’ve got to say, I was really excited to be back out there and play the game.”

Andújar, who turns 25 in March, finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a groundout in his first game of any kind since May 12. He played four innings at third base, where manager Aaron Boone said that Andújar is likely to start again on Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., before making his left field debut in a game at George M. Steinbrenner Field later this week.

With Gio Urshela seemingly entrenched as the Opening Day third baseman, Boone floated the idea of increasing Andújar’s versatility during a winter visit to the Dominican Republic. Andújar was receptive to the suggestion, and he revealed to Boone that he had already started to take balls at first base and in the outfield on his own, a crash course that continued once Andújar arrived in Florida.

“The progress is really going well,” Andújar said. “I feel everything that we've been working on has been working out. I'm excited with the results and now we're just waiting for that opportunity, getting some game action. I haven't played outfield since I was a little kid, but we have great coaches here. What they've been teaching me is definitely making a difference.”

Hi, Lo

Jonathan Loaisiga, a contender to fill a back-end rotation slot, pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout on Sunday. With James Paxton and potentially Luis Severino unavailable to begin the season, Loaisiga has been listed as a starting pitching candidate, along with Luis Cessa, Deivi Garcia, Michael King and Jordan Montgomery.

“The thing with 'Lo' is, I never want to limit what he may do someday, because he's so talented,” Boone said. “He's physically really gifted. We'll build him up a little bit, and then based on need, I could see him being that dynamic one-two time through the order guy out of the 'pen. You could see a scenario where he makes some starts. We're not at that point where we're deciding on that yet.”

Go, Flo

Estevan Florial’s progress has stalled over the past two seasons, as injuries have delayed the outfielder from fulfilling his forecasted potential, but the Yankees continue to have high hopes for the 22-year-old speedster.

Rated as the Yanks’ No. 3 prospect last season by MLB Pipeline, Florial hit .237/.297/.383 with eight homers, 38 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 74 games at Class A Advanced Tampa, while striking out 98 times in 274 at-bats. He was 0-for-3 with a run scored on Sunday.

“The injuries have been frustrating for him and cut into some of the development, there’s no question,” Boone said. “But I think what hasn't been lost is, it's still special talent. He's still a very young man and I still feel like he's got a chance to be an impact player at the big league level. It's important for him to be able to go out and kind of have that clean season where he racks up 400 at-bats and is able to stay healthy. Then the development can start happening.”

Up next

Gerrit Cole will make his Grapefruit League debut as a Yankee on Monday as the Bombers host the Pirates for a 6:35 p.m. ET contest at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Cole, who spent his first five big league seasons with Pittsburgh, is expected to pitch one inning in the contest. Brett Gardner, Gary Sánchez and Giancarlo Stanton are also expected to be in New York’s lineup.

“Everything with Gerrit has been highly anticipated; his first bullpen, his first live [BP] session,” Boone said. “Obviously, I'm sure there will be a little buzz around the park tomorrow with him going in a night game. I think we're all excited for him to start building toward the start of the season.”