CHICAGO — With the New York Yankees, Brandon Drury got squeezed out.
Now with his new team, the Toronto Blue Jays, Drury hopes to wedge his way into a crowded infield mix.
“They just said be ready to play,” Drury said of what Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told him to expect in Toronto after he was acquired by the team Thursday in the trade that sent J.A. Happ to New York. “You’re going to play. We want to see what you got, so that’s what I’m here for — to do what I know I can do.”
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To do what he wants to do in Toronto, however, Drury will need to be in the starting lineup, which will be a juggling act for Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. There are five players on his active roster who can play in three positions: second base, third base and shortstop.
Drury, who is most comfortable at third but can play second and the corner outfield spots, was not in the lineup Friday when Toronto visited the Chicago White Sox for the first of a three-game series. He pinch hit for Curtis Granderson in the eighth inning, but struck out on four pitches.
Gibbons said Drury will receive his share of starts for the remainder of the season.
“He’s here to play,” the manager said. “I talked to the other infielders, too. It’s going to cut into everybody’s playing time a little bit (to) make sure they all play. He’ll play some third base and some second base and possibly some outfield.”
Drury joins Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Devon Travis, who are all on the major-league roster and thus will all be looking for playing time. That’s not to mention the injured infielders. Third baseman Josh Donaldson — assuming he returns this season — and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki — assuming he returns, ever — are still Blue Jays.
Who gets to start could depend on who is playing the best, Gibbons said. Other factors will contribute to his lineup choices, too.
“Who needs a day (off),” he said. “Maybe who’s pitching against us, and then when Donaldson, when he comes back, it’ll be really cluttered up. But he’ll be our third baseman. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Even if Drury is not an everyday player with the Blue Jays yet and he departs a club that appears destined for the post-season to join one going in the opposite direction, the journey to Toronto is a welcome one after a brief, yet tumultuous tenure with the Yankees.
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The 25-year-old was acquired by New York from Arizona in the off-season as part of a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Rays. The year in New York looked bright to start after Drury was part of the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup. But just eight games into the season, blurry vision, which had afflicted Drury for years, suddenly became too much to play through.
The Yankees placed him on the disabled list, set on finding the root cause of the vision issue.
Eventually, he was found to have an irritated tendon in his neck, which was leading to his problems seeing clearly. He received treatment from a specialist, which included acupuncture on his head and neck, and his vision has improved dramatically since. (The treatment is ongoing). In the meantime, while he was away from the Yankees, he lost his job on the big-league club to Miguel Andújar, who is hitting .294/.328/.499 in his first season in the majors.
That left Drury on the outside looking in, which was especially tough given he had been a regular player with the Diamondbacks for the two previous seasons. Across the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he hit .275 with 29 homers.
“It’s been a really, really frustrating season,” he said while sitting in the visitor’s dugout at Guaranteed Rate Field. “It hasn’t been easy for me, so to come over here to Toronto, I feel like it’s a fresh new start and I feel like that’s something I needed, so I’m really excited about it.”
And with the page turned, Drury is looking to use the adversity he faced in New York as a motivator.
“I think it’s going to make me a better player just going through that,” he said. “Being a guy that was in the big leagues, I was a decent player for a few years and then to go through all that and get sent down twice after having a little bit of success in the big leagues previously. You know it wasn’t easy on me, so going through that for this year has been tough on me, but I feel like it’s made me even hungrier and even more ready to go out and do what I know I can do.”
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In 18 games with the Yankees this season, he hit .176 with two doubles and a home run. Over 1,014 career big-league at-bats, he has slashed .266/.316/.439. Drury said those stats don’t yet represent his potential as a big-league hitter.
“I still feel like there’s a lot left in the tank, and I’m here to go prove that,” he said.
The Blue Jays also hope that’s the case. On a conference call with reporters following the trade on Thursday, GM Atkins spoke highly of Drury and said the team has had their eye on acquiring his services for some time.
“He called me yesterday and told me he’s been keeping his eye on me for a long time,” Drury said of the chat he had with Atkins. “And he really likes what I have, so now it’s my job to go out and prove him right.”
Beyond the opportunity for more regular play in the majors, Drury is happy to join the Blue Jays organization, where he knows a few faces.
“I know a lot of the guys on this team, just from playing against them and I keep in touch with a couple of them,” he said. “But you know, keep in touch with Donaldson and Tulo’s a guy, too, that I have been friends with for a long time now, kind of mentored me and taught me the ropes, so to come over here and be with him is pretty special to me.”
Even without his friend Tulowitzki currently in the mix, the infield picture in Toronto is still muddled. But Drury is seeing clearly now, and he is simply ready to play.
“My goal is to be in the lineup every day and to get my at-bats to do what I can do at the plate,” he said. “And I trust if I do that, I feel like I’m going to have a spot to play.”
(Top photo: Jeff Chevrier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
