On Wednesday the New York Yankees activated Jose Pirela from the disabled list and called him up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He went 2-for-4 in his season debut against the Toronto Blue Jays and could start chipping into playing time of second baseman Stephen Drew and shortstop Didi Gregorius.
Pirela impressed the Yankees during spring training after batting .370/.433/.630 with four runs scored and five RBIs in 15 games (30 plate appearances), but he suffered a concussion and started the season on the disabled list. New York was likely eagerly awaiting his return because the club's incumbent middle infielders - Gregorius and Drew - are batting a combined .193 with 12 runs scored, 4 home runs and 15 RBIs in a combined 51 games.
Pirela's bat could help spark some sort of offensive production among the Yankees' middle infield.
"The callup of Jose Pirela (.579 at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre) could mean less playing playing time for Stephen Drew, but it could also mean a bit less for Didi Gregorius, who's looked a tad nervous replacing the iconic Derek Jeter," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Prior to the Yankees signing Drew to a one-year, $5 million deal in the offseason, rumors suggested Pirela would be competing with prospect Rob Refsnyder for the starting second base job, but New York figured they needed insurance at the position because the two youngsters are largely unproven and there's always a risk of injury. And they were right, because Refsnyder endured defensive struggles during spring training, which have continued into his season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Pirela suffered a concussion.
But now it's possible Pirela takes over at second if Drew continues to struggle and the prospect might even cut into Gregorius' time at shortstop. Pirela has actually played most of his minor league games at shortstop (364) with the next most coming at second (304), so this is another option the Yankees can consider if Gregorius needs time off.
However, manager Joe Girardi isn't jumping the gun just yet.
"We're going to keep running [Drew] out there," he told Dan Martin of the New York Post.
"We look at at-bats. We look really deep into it. It's not just what his average is. It's 'Is he being productive?' We know he's [struggled] the last 20 at-bats, but that happens to a lot of hitters. I thought he's hit the ball much better than the luck he's had."
But that doesn't mean Drew's job is safe in the long run, nor does it mean Gregorius will get a free pass even though he's viewed as Derek Jeter's successor.
"[Pirela] does anything you ask of him and does a good job,'' Girardi added, via George A. King III of the New York Post. "He is a nice piece.''
Run producing has not been a problem for the Bronx Bombers - they rank 6th in the MLB in runs scored - but the middle infield is failing to contribute to that number and Girardi may call for a change soon.
