Make or Break: Brandon Drury

In 2019, Drury played his age 26 season as a utility man off the bench for the Blue Jays. After being acquired in 2018 as a piece of the JA Happ trade, he was mostly thought of as a temporary placeholder in the infield until Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette were called up the following season. He primarily played third base until the call up, and was seen all over the diamond afterward. Despite his versatility, the 2020 season will go a long way in determining Drury’s long term fit with the team after he failed to get anything going offensively in his first full year with the Jays.

When Drury joined Toronto, he was in the middle of a very poor season with the Yankees, where he was hitting for a .176 batting average on the year. Some people consider batting average to be an outdated stat, but with numbers that low, it’s clear to everyone that he was having a poor season. Upon joining Toronto, he played primarily in AAA Buffalo, but joined the team in September, where he would play in 8 games, and finish the year with a .169 average, having played even worse in Toronto than New York.

Considering how poorly Drury played, why did he even get an opportunity in 2019? Prior to the 2018 season, Drury spent three seasons with Arizona, debuting in his age 22 season. Although his rookie year was disappointing, his second and third seasons in the league were very strong. In year two — arguably the strongest year of his career thus far — Drury hit .282 with a .329 OBP and a .458 slugging, all of which remain career highs. As well he hit for 16 home runs, and 53 RBI in 461 at bats for the Diamondbacks. His second year was very similar, but with slight regressions in each category through 16 less at bats.

When the Yankees acquired Drury, as well as when the Blue Jays acquired Drury, they assumed they were getting a strong offensive player who could be used as a solid bottom of the order hitter that can maintain a potential starting spot, and at the very least a high usage bench player. His whole career he played throughout the diamond, so he was someone who was expected to yield as many as 400 at bats per year, even off the bench. Unfortunately, Drury has lost his offense, and after two straight down years, he is no longer considered the offense first player he once was.

With the year nearing the contending years of their rebuild, 2020 might be the final chance for Drury to prove himself. Despite a solid power display (15 HR), Drury struggled to hit for contact, and to generally get on base with a .218 batting average and a .262 OBP. With young players such as Jordan Groshans, Austin Martin, Logan Warmoth, Kevin Smith, and others close to their debut, another down year could lose Drury his spot on the team. He needs to prove that he is a more balanced hitter who is able to do more than hit a long ball once every eight days. He is someone the front office would really like to use long term, and someone who has the potential to be an asset for the team, but unless he unlocks that potential and goes back to his Diamondbacks form, it will but unclear what role he will hold on the team in the future, or even if he will be a part of the future.