ANAHEIM, Calif. — Everything we touch, eat, drink, buy and know comes with a shelf life. Food and wine spoil eventually, cars get too old to drive and knowledge seemingly changes by the hour these days.
Not even the best of the sports world beat the expiration date tattooed on bodies that slow down or break apart.
So, Gio Urshela is no different. Yet, what he has provided the Yankees at third base in the absence of Miguel Andujar has been vital to the club not hitting rock bottom in the wake of losing an incredible amount of talent to the injured list.
Andujar, the runner-up in the AL Rookie of the Year race last season, played the first three games of the season and went on the shelf with a tear in the right shoulder labrum. A decision whether to have surgery or attempt to play through it hasn’t been made yet.
In the wake of Andujar going on the injured list, the Yankees started DJ LeMahieu at third for five straight games before promoting Urshela from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on April 6.
Since then, the 27-year-old former Indians and Blue Jays infielder has started 10 games, has provided way above average defense at third and confounded those who believe his bat has never come close to matching a magical glove and strong, accurate arm.
“He is a typical utility player, but the bat hasn’t been there for him to play every day,’’ a scout said of Urshela, who drove in the tying and winning runs in Monday night’s 4-3 victory over the Angels in 14 innings with a sacrifice fly in the 12th and an RBI single in the 14th. “His approach is to put the ball in play. He is not a young prospect, but having a guy in the organization like him helps and that is what he is doing right now.’’
Upon joining the Yankees in Baltimore, Urshela was asked about hitting .321 (9-for-28) in spring training. Politely, he said he had made some adjustments at the plate but wasn’t willing to share them publicly.
Following the Yankees’ fourth straight victory and sixth in seven games Monday night, Urshela credited the tweaks for his success at the plate.
“They are definitely helping and seeing the results right now,’’ Urshela said. “It’s just a matter of keep working.’’
In his first 14 big-league games this season, Urshela hit .297 with a .372 on-base percentage. That is far above his career batting average of .231 and .281 on-base percentage in 181 games. So, too, is the stretch of nine games (seven starts) from April 12-22 when he batted .333 (9-for-27) with a .345 on-base percentage and .789 OPS.
“He is a gamer and knows how to play, but the bat has always been a question,’’ another talent evaluator said of Urshela, who in 11 minor league seasons has a .270 batting average and 72 homers in 3,387 at-bats.
Nobody knows when Andujar will resurface in the big leagues this year. And, of course, he isn’t the only high-profile Yankee on the shelf. When Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances come off the shelf is simply a guess at this point.
Clint Frazier has covered nicely for Stanton but he was the No. 5 pick in the 2013 draft by the Indians because of off-the-chart tools and is still 24.
History informs us there is a shelf life to Urshela’s contributions, but it can’t be ignored that they have come at a time when the Yankees desperately needed them.