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New York Yankees: Winners and losers from the first week of May

By Sean Dyer

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees celebrates his ninth inning game winning three run home run against the Cleveland Indians with his teammates at Yankee Stadium on May 6, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees celebrates his ninth inning game winning three run home run against the Cleveland Indians with his teammates at Yankee Stadium on May 6, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – MARCH 31: Tyler Austin #26 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Brandon Drury #29 after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on March 31, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – MARCH 31: Tyler Austin #26 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Brandon Drury #29 after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on March 31, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Loser: Brandon Drury and/or Tyler Austin

With Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres playing so well, it’ll be tough to send them back to the minor leagues when everyone on the Yankees gets healthy. In turn, Brandon Drury and/or Tyler Austin could end up on the outside looking in when New York’s roster crunch inevitably comes.

The Yankees acquired Drury from the Arizona Diamondbacks to play third base, which is where he started the season. Then migraines and blurry vision forced him to the disabled list and gave Andujar a chance to prove that both his bat and his glove were MLB-ready.

Andujar has done just that as he’s been a doubles machine like he was in the minor leagues, he’s got a cannon for an arm, and his glove is more than serviceable. When Drury gets over his migraines and blurred vision, it appears that his starting third base job is no longer there for him. Once he’s ready though, Drury more than deserves a major league roster spot, so who could be at risk of being sent down to the minors?

Unfortunately, Austin could be the man left out of the Yankees’ roster crunch. After a hot start that had some fans ready to move Greg Bird to the bench once he’s healthy, Austin has cooled off considerably. After serving a four-game suspension for his involvement in the benches-clearing brawl against the Boston Red Sox, Austin returned for two games before tweaking his hip making a diving play at first base. Austin then missed three games before returning as the designated hitter on Sunday. Since his suspension, Austin is 0-for-9 at the plate with one walk.

Sure, it’s a small sample size, but with one remaining minor league option, Austin could be the guy who gets sent down when Drury is healthy. However, if Austin picks it back up again, Drury could spend some extra time in the minors while the Yankees make sure he’s 100% clear of his head issues. Once Bird returns, both Drury and Austin could be in trouble. Either way, the play of New York’s rookies have Drury and Austin’s major league roster spots up in the air. For that, they are losers this week.

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