Yankees’ Trey Amburgey forced to wait a bit for his debut

Trey Amburgey waited a long time before being called up by the Yankees.

It finally happened Wednesday night, but the outfielder will have to wait at least one more day to make his MLB debut.

The Yankees selected Amburgey’s contract ahead of the series opener scheduled for Thursday against the Red Sox, only to have the game postponed due to several positive cases of COVID-19 at the Yankees clubhouse .

Before the Yankees announced they had canceled batting training to undergo further testing – the game was postponed shortly after – Amburgey said he was not in Thursday’s roster but that it should start on Friday.

The right-handed hitter, who was batting .312 with a .960 OPS in 38 games this season for Triple-A Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, said he was surprised by the timing of the move. The Yankees have had a lack of production from their left fielder this season, but Amburgey will now offer another corner outfield option while Clint Frazier (vertigo) and Miguel Andujar (sprained left wrist) are on the roster. wounded.

“I was ready,” Amburgey said. “I told everyone around me that I was ready. So whenever the call came in, I was ready.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated [waiting]. It’s a dream to come here and play for the Yankees. At the same time, I knew that starting the year was going to be difficult, not playing last year. So I had a tough mound to climb but being here now I’m good to go whenever they call my name.

Amburgey, 26, who grew up as a Red Sox fan because his mother and grandparents were from Boston, was eager to make his debut against them. He expected 11 family and friends to attend after sharing the news with them late Wednesday night after RailRiders manager Doug Davis snapped his promotion.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to try to wake my wife up,’ because she went to bed, it was past midnight, ‘Amburgey said. “So I said, ‘Hey, guess where I’ll be tomorrow? I started to cry and lost him. I called my parents right after. They were supposed to go to a concert or something this weekend and I was like, ‘You have to cancel it.’ They were like, ‘Why?’ I’m like ‘I’ll be in the Bronx.’ My mother lost it. So it was a good time. “

Amburgey, the Yankees’ 13th round pick in 2015, attributed his best results this season to a change in approach.

“Stay in my zone, don’t buy in what [the pitcher is] try to do, ”Amburgey said. “So far it has worked and I hope I can continue to do so here.”