A's Miguel Andujar Getting Time at The Hot Corner

Back in Miguel Andujar's rookie season with the New York Yankees, he was the team's everyday third baseman. In that season, he ended up posting a .297 batting average with 27 long balls in 606 plate appearances. That season had Andujar finish second in American League Rookie of the Year voting to Shohei Ohtani by a surprisingly close 137-89 margin.

Andujar would eventually be moved off the hot corner and into the Yankees' outfield for defensive purposes. He'd get a few games at third base in following seasons, but never stuck there. Once he left New York in 2022, his days of playing third base, even sparingly, were apparently behind him.

Since Miguel Andujar joined the Athletics at the beginning of last season, he's been a big contributor to the A's offense when healthy. Heading into this season, Andujar was part of the A's crowded outfield alongside JJ Bleday, Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, and Seth Brown.

When the A's called up No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz to play first base, Tyler Soderstrom became the starting left fielder, pushing Andujar into more of a bench role.

Gio Urshela was brought in this past off-season to man the hot corner for the green and gold. However, his start offensively for the club has been quite underwhelming. With Kurtz's promotion, a conversation was had with Andujar about how he'd feel about playing third base again to get his bat in the lineup.

With Andujar batting .326 to begin the season, having him just sit on the bench wasn't the best use of the team's roster. With Urshela dealing with some back pain that he can play through, that has created a spot at third base on occasion, and Andujar is seeing some of that time, getting his second start at third on Monday night against the Seattle Mariners.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Andujar will fare over a large stretch at his former position, and if he can hold his own defensively there, it will be nice to keep his bat--as well as Soderstrom's, in the lineup down as the season plays out while the club looks to compete in the AL West.