Because the Yankees are a disaster and their entire roster is injured, former Cleveland Indian Gio Urshela has been pressed into starting service in New York.
And he is more than holding his own, hitting .333/.400/.485 (135 OPS+) over 66 at-bats. Couple that with his Gold Glove defense…the Yankees have found a very nice band-aid until Miguel Andujar returns to action.
Urshela hit .225/.273/.314 (55 OPS+) over two partial seasons with the Tribe. Not great, but his defense was really special–which makes the fact that most Indians fans will only ever remember him for his unbelievably terrible defensive performance in Game 4 of the team’s ALDS loss to the New York Yankees even more depressing. He was a decent prospect and its a shame it never panned out in Cleveland.
Not sure I want it to pan out in New York. But I am rooting for him to maybe get another playoff start and redeem himself from 2017.