Report: Andújar requests trade from Yankees

NEW YORK -- Infielder-outfielder Miguel Andújar requested a trade from the Yankees after being optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Friday’s 13-0 victory over the Tigers.

Hector Gómez first reported -- and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal has confirmed -- that Andújar informed manager Aaron Boone of his desire to be traded. Boone said that he would not divulge the contents of their discussion, adding that Andújar’s demotion was the result of “a tough numbers game.”

The Yankees have not confirmed the report.

“Miggy’s a great guy,” Boone said. “That’s a difficult option, understanding that he’s a big part of what we’ve done here, and certainly wants to be here. So I understand that’s a tough one.”

The Yankees have shuttled Andújar between Triple-A and the big league squad three times this season, with the 27-year-old batting .268/.279/.317 with two doubles, three RBIs and three stolen bases in 12 Major League games.

Andújar was optioned to create room on the active roster for Giancarlo Stanton, who was activated from the 10-day injured list.

“Last night was really difficult,” Boone said. “He’s been playing regularly for us and has been a part of us winning ballgames. There’s been other times in the last few years when it’s been needed to go down there and work through some things, get built up. Right now, he’s contributing, and he knows that. We know that.”

It is important to note that the Yankees are under no obligation to trade Andújar, who is signed for $1.3 million this year and has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Andújar has seen playing time in left field and as a designated hitter in the Majors this season. He has also played the infield corners and outfield corners over his six-year big league career (2017-present), including a stellar 2018, during which he batted .297/.328/.527 with 27 homers and 92 RBIs in 149 games, finishing second to the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

With Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Joey Gallo all healthy, Boone is preparing to handle what he described as “a tough math problem” even without Andújar on the active roster, now juggling the challenge of finding at-bats for bench players Matt Carpenter and Marwin Gonzalez.

“Competition and performance all matters, and goes into more and more opportunities,” Boone said before Saturday’s game. “Those things kind of declare themselves as you keep moving forward.”