OAKLAND, Calif. — Having spent seven seasons in the minor leagues Ramon Flores never has been a highly regarded prospect.
But Saturday, Flores became something a lot of those prospects never turn into: a big leaguer.
Flores, a 23-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, arrived from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Yankees’ O.co Coliseum clubhouse Saturday and was playing left field and batting seventh against Athletics right-hander Jesse Hahn.
“I am proud to be here with the Yankees,’’ said Flores, who went 0-for-4 in the Yankees’ 5-3 win. “The last 24 hours have been a lot of emotion for me. I feel like I am still dreaming. Maybe [Sunday] I will wake up. It took seven years in the minor leagues to get here.’’
With Slade Heathcott (strained right quadriceps) joining Jacoby Ellsbury (sprained right knee) on the disabled list, the left-handed hitting Flores, the fifth Yankee to make his major league debut this season for the club, got the call.
In 42 games at Triple-A, the Venezuela native hit .294 (47-for-160) with four homers, 15 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.
“He is used to being an every-day player, get his feet wet and see if he can be productive,’’ said manager Joe Girardi, who shifted Brett Gardner from left to center, something he will do whenever Flores is in the lineup until Ellsbury returns. “His ceiling is high offensively and defensively. Just give us good at-bats, and I think he has the ability to do that.’’
Heathcott will leave the club and have his leg examined by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.
Gardner, a former center fielder who was moved to left last year when Jacoby Ellsbury signed, started in center field for the first time Saturday night after making 41 starts and appearing in 44 games in left this season. He went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
“I think he will be fine, I don’t think it will be a problem,’’ Girardi said of Gardner in center, where he appeared in 308 games.
Inserting Flores in the lineup wasn’t the only change Girardi made. Jose Pirela filled in for the ice-cold Stephen Drew at second base. He went 1-for-3 and scored the Yankees’ second run before Drew took over in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Bombers up, 4-3.
“Have we made a position change? No, not necessarily,’’ Girardi said.
Drew, hitless in 19 at-bats coming in, fouled out in his only at-bat and carries a .157 average and a .225 on-base average.
“Anyone can earn playing time, that’s the way it’s always been,’’ Girardi.
In limited playing time, Pirela is hitting .212 (7-for-33) in 13 games.
Barring another injury between Saturday and Wednesday, Masahiro Tanaka will start against the Mariners in Seattle Wednesday.
That means Chris Capuano, who started Friday night in a 6-2 loss at Oakland, won’t make his next scheduled start and will watch Tanaka take the ball that night.
So, where does that leave the veteran lefty who was re-signed to a one-year deal for $5 million, suffered a quadriceps injury in the first spring training game and didn’t come off the DL until May 17 and is 0-3 with an alarming 6.39 ERA in three starts?
“There is no need to make a decision right now,’’ said Girardi, who will do that Wednesday.
Tanaka played long toss in the outfield before Saturday’s game.
Girardi isn’t saying and Capuano stated the situation isn’t playing mind games with him.
“I never worry too much about that,’’ Capuano said after throwing a season-high 5 ¹/₃ innings against the A’s in Friday night’s 6-2 loss in which he allowed four runs [three] earned and six hits. “That stuff usually works itself out.’’
The only definitive thing Girardi has offered is that he isn’t going to a six-man rotation. Nevertheless, he can’t send Tanaka and Capuano to the mound against the Mariners, so Capuano will take a seat. The question is for how long?
Tanaka made four starts (the last one April 23) before going on the DL with tendinitis in the right wrist and a minor strain in the same forearm. He is 2-1 with a 3.22 ERA and made two rehab starts for SWB.
Right-handed reliever Chris Martin threw a scoreless inning at Triple-A on Saturday night. Martin has been on the disabled list since May 9 with tendinitis in the right elbow.
Girardi continues to believe Drew is the victim of hard luck, but there is no dodging the second baseman is among the worst hitters in the big leagues.
Drew, who was signed to a one-year deal for $5 million, was ranked last (170th) among hitters who qualified for the batting race with a .158 (24-for-152) going into Saturday night. He also was last with a .226 on-base percentage and 169th in slugging percentage at .529. Only Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez was behind Drew at .506.
“It’s different from night to night,’’ Girardi said of Drew who went 0-for-4 Friday night to extend a slump to 0-for-19. “You see him barrel balls up but he doesn’t get hits. And then he might be out in front a little bit. [Friday night] is a hard night to judge anyone against Sonny Gray, but it doesn’t seem like he gets the rewards he should when he hits the ball hard and that is frustrating.
Brian McCann, who did not homer but went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk, entered the night having homered once in each of the last four games. It’s the first time a Yankees catcher has done that since Mike Stanley in 1993.
In McCann’s past eight games he is batting .385 (10-for-26) with four homers and 12 RBIs.
“I have been swinging the bat well all year, now I am getting more into the swing,’’ said McCann, who credited an adjustment. “I am getting my timing back.’’