Vazquez Promoted to Scranton

Donnie Collins is reporting that the Yankees are promoting Jorge Vazquez to Triple-A Scranton. A power hitter that plays both third and first he was signed out of Mexico over a year ago and played entirely at Double-A Trenton in 2009. He was originally slated to start this year in Scranton but had to have an appendectomy during spring training. After 2 months of recovery, he was recently sent to Trenton where he batted .390 with 6 RBIs and a .405 OBP in 10 games. Scranton in dire need for some offense, is hoping he will add some fire power to their lineup.

Besides being a power hitting option at designated hitter, this move could also be related to the recent Alex Rodriguez injury which has him sidelined probably until at least Tuesday. With Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo the only other options at third, the Yankee lineup loses a material amount of power if AROD is out for a significant amount of time. Getting Vazquez ready would give the Yankees another option at third and because of his experience, he could be a logical choice for the Yankees right now.

Vazquez a 28-year-old veteran of 9 seasons in the Mexican League was named 4 times to the All Star team. He started his career in Mexico at 17 and ended it hitting .321 with 151 home runs. He hit at least .300 and 15 home runs in each of his last 5 years in the Mexican League. He was signed by the Yankees on December 7, 2008 as a free agent. Last year he spent the entire year in Double-A hitting .329 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs in 225 at bats. Vazquez' next stop is Scranton but if he continues to hit he may not be there very long.