Andujar’s first-half revival with Oakland A’s features return to rookie approach

Miguel Andujar has waited years for this opportunity.

Following a half decade stretch defined by a combination of injuries, underperformance and a lack of opportunity, the 29-year-old Andujar is in the midst of a resurgence and a potential trade target for contending teams at the July 30 deadline.

He’s posting his best numbers since he was a rookie, hitting .305 with a 114 OPS+ heading into Tuesday’s game against the Angels. To A’s manager Mark Kotsay, it’s a glimpse into an alternate timeline of Andujar’s career.

“This is the player he would’ve been, in my opinion, had he not had the significant injuries that he’s gone through for those years in his career,” Kotsay said.

In 2018, Andujar was on a radically different trajectory. He finished second behind Shohei Ohtani in the American League Rookie of the Year race, hitting 27 home runs and amassing 92 RBIs with a .297/.328/.527 slash line. Alongside Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres, Andujar looked the part of a foundational piece in the Bronx.

That future never materialized.

He missed most of 2019 due to right shoulder issues. He struggled in the abbreviated 2020 season, then dealt with a left wrist ailment that sidelined him for most of 2021. Towards the end of 2022, the Yankees designated him for assignment. The Pirates claimed Andujar off waivers, but he spent most of 2023 in the minors and was waived by season’s end.

From 2019 to 2023, Andujar appeared in just 144 major-league games. When he did play, he did not perform, posting a paltry .234 batting average and 69 OPS+. According to Baseball Reference, Andujar was worth -1.7 wins above replacement.

Andujar’s departure from New York was especially tough. Andujar signed with the Yankees at 16 years old as an international free agent in July 2011, spending more than a decade with the franchise before his departure. Given how well he played in his first full season, he envisioned wearing the pinstripes for years to come.

“At the end of the day, you can’t control injuries and stuff like that,” Andujar said. “They want to win. They want the best. I had surgery on my shoulder, and after that, I never played more than 50 games (in a season) in the bigs.”

The A’s took a flier on Andujar this offseason, claiming him off waivers and then signing him to a one-year, $1.7 million deal. Andujar, in turn, is making the most of his opportunity.

The source of Andujar’s revival at the plate dates back to 2023. During spring training, Andujar began working with Frankie Colon, a hitting coach in the Tampa area who was suggested by former Yankees teammate Gary Sánchez.

Colon compiled film of Andujar’s 2018 season, the goal being to get Andujar back to a gap-to-gap approach. While Andujar hit 27 homers as a rookie, he never exhibited that type of power in the minors. Before his first call-up, Andujar hadn’t hit more than 16 homers in a single minor-league season. After producing unexpected power numbers in his first season, Andujar tried to replicate those results rather than sticking to what worked.

“I tried to hit the ball in the air,” Andujar said. “That hurt me because I hit a lot of doubles in 2018, so I tried to hit more homers. I found Colon and he told me the right things.”

With the help of Colon, Andujar finally got back to the approach he exhibited as a rookie. The results followed.

Andujar spent most of last year with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, where he had a .338 batting average and .941 OPS. In 30 games with the Pittsburgh, Andujar had a .250 batting average and .776 OPS. Considering Andujar had a .230 batting average and .581 OPS in the majors from 2019 to 2022, it was a season upon which he could build.

Andujar continued hitting well in the Dominican Winter League (.306 batting average, 19 RBIs), but really turned heads during spring training with the A’s. In 14 games, Andujar hit .357 with five home runs and a 1.110 OPS in Cactus League play before undergoing surgery to repair a torn right meniscus. His injury kept him off the A’s Opening Day roster, but since joining the fold in May, Andujar has just kept on producing.

“Leaving spring training being hurt, this isn’t going to be another full season for him, but hopefully, we’ll have the remainder of the season watching him do special things,” Kotsay said.

The likelihood that Andujar remains in Oakland for the remainder of the season, though, is low. The A’s are currently on pace to lose at least 100 games for a third straight season, and with Andujar being on a cheap one-year deal, he’ll likely be dealt to a contender at the trade deadline.

Regardless of the length of his stay in the Bay, Andujar’s time with the green and gold has provided his career with a second wind.