New York Yankees prospect Rob Refsnyder had a good opportunity to make the MLB roster out of spring training due to the team's weak infield depth, but he'll have to wait for his second shot in the bigs after Sunday.
The Yankees optioned the 25-year-old to Triple-A and reassigned him to minor league camp after he cooled off as spring training progressed.
"Our feeling is, we want him to go play more third," manager Joe Girardi said. "We feel that if he can do them both, it would really be valuable to us. We're going to get him multiple, multiple days down there at third base. It's tough. We thought he made progress while he was here. We're just asking him to make some more."
Some believed Refsnyder would make the Opening Day roster as the team's utility player, but that hit a bump in the road when he was hit in the face with two ground balls over the weekend and watched his spring stat line decrease to .242/.286/.364 with four runs scored, one home run and three RBI in 33 at-bats. He also finished with four errors (three in the past two games) in 51-1/3 innings at third.
Girardi said the two grounders Refsnyder took off the face had nothing to do with the decision, and that it'd just be "extremely beneficial" if he got more reps at third before undertaking a role on the MLB roster. Refsnyder has never been regarded as a good defender, but he made some nice plays this spring at third after spending most of his professional career at second.
While New York hopes to utilize Refsnyder's talented bat (.290/.380/.432 stat line in 430 career minor league games), it's not going to come as quickly as expected. His demotion could make way for Pete Kozma or Ronald Torreyes, although neither of the two has played much this spring. Still, they're both considered better defenders than Refsnyder, and at the end of the day, Girardi likely wants an effective fielder in the event Chase Headley's defensive woes from 2015 resurface.
Kozma and Torreyes aren't known for their bats, but Girardi said they're "guys that can really defend."
It's unknown what this means for Refsnyder's future, but it's yet another step back for the youngster. Many believed he would've contributed to the MLB roster much earlier last season, but concerns with his glove kept him in the minors for longer than expected.
If he keeps running into issues, his time with New York could be running out.