Position: IF/OF
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 211 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 03/02/1995
Signed: International Free Agent, 2011 (Yankees)
How Acquired: Waiver Claim (from Yankees)
Bonus: $750,000
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: 0
Overview
Andujar was the Yankees’ top international signing in the 2011-12 signing period. As a hitter, he’s been erratic. He’s shown the ability to hit for average and power, and he doesn’t swing and miss much, especially by today’s standards. He also seldom walks. Despite making contact consistently, and despite having good raw power, he’s had stretches when he hasn’t produced much at the plate. He had a big rookie season for the Yankees in 2018, but missed much of 2021 and nearly all of 2019 with injuries. With the pandemic in 2020, that gave him three years of limited playing time. By 2022, the Yankees seemed to have lost interest in him and he spent most of the season in AAA. On the defensive side, the scouting reports in his prospect days said he had good range at third, along with a very good arm. He’s always been error-prone, though, and the metrics since he’s been in the majors rate him very poorly. In the last few years, he’s played a lot in left and a little at first. With the Pirates, he’s played exclusively in the outfield in the majors. He’s played a lot at first in AAA, but for some reason they aren’t willing to play him there in the majors, despite their chronic inability to find a first baseman who can hit. They obtained Andujar off waivers near the end of the 2022 season.
2012-16
Andujar made slow progress through the Yankees’ system. He skipped the DSL, then repeated rookie ball after a weak first season. His second season there seemingly was a big breakout, but he had just an OK season in low A in 2014 and didn’t hit much in the Florida State League in 2015. He went back there in 2016 and had a good first half, then hit just passably in AA in the second half. Baseball America ranked him 12th in the Yankees’ system after that season and the team added him to the 40-man roster.
2017-18
In 2017-18, Andujar really got himself on the map. He had a big first half in AA in 2017, putting up an .836 OPS, then he added an .866 OPS in AAA in the second half. He also made his major league debut. In 2018, Andujar spent the entire season with the Yankees and had a big year, finishing second only to Shohei Ohtani in the Rookie of the Year voting. He had 47 doubles, 27 home runs and 92 RBIs.
2019-21
Andujar didn’t play much for three years. In 2019, he missed most of the season due to a right shoulder injury that ultimately required labrum surgery. He got into only a dozen games in the majors, along with three rehab games. In the pandemic season, Andujar shuttled back and forth between the majors and the Yankees’ alternate site. His hitting dropped off sharply from 2018. In 2021, injuries struck again, as Andujar missed most of April and then most of the second half with a wrist injury. When he got into action in the majors, he hit for some power but didn’t hit well overall, with a .667 OPS.
2022-23
Andujar spent the bulk of the 2022 season in AAA, where he hit well. He again didn’t do much in his limited time with the Yankees. The Pirates acquired him on waivers with about ten days left in the season. He started five games at DH and four in left for them. He didn’t play first base. In one of their endlessly incomprehensible decisions, they were determined to go with Zack Collins there.
After the 2022 season, Andujar was eligible for salary arbitration, but settled with the Pirates on a salary of $1.525M. As it turned out, though, they designated him for assignment when they signed Andrew McCutchen. He cleared waivers; not surprisingly, he accepted assignment to AAA, which let him keep the salary. Andujar got off to a good start for Indianapolis and the Pirates called him up at the end of April. He had a big debut, homering in each game of a doubleheader, although the second one was off a position player. After that he went 1-for-26 and played badly on defense. The Pirates designated him for assignment again in mid-May. Not surprisingly, he again cleared waivers and accepted assignment to AAA. He continued raking for Indy, finishing with a 338/404/536 line there. The Pirates called him back up on September 1 and he hit well the rest of the season, finishing at 250/300/476. In 90 plate appearances, he drew only six walks but also struck out only 13 times.
The Pirates designated Andujar for assignment after the season. If he clears waivers, he’ll become a free agent.
Stats
Transactions
July 20, 2011: Signed by the New York Yankees as an international free agent.
November 18, 2016: Contract purchased by the New York Yankees.
September 25, 2022: Claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 26, 2023: Outrighted to AAA by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
April 29, 2023: Called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
May 22, 2023: Outrighted to AAA by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 1, 2023: Called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
November 2, 2023: Designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.