Trey Amburgey waited a long time to get a call-up to the Yankees.
It finally came 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 prior to Thursday’s scheduled series opener against the Red Sox, only for the game to be postponed because of multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the Yankees’ clubhouse.
Before the Yankees announced they had canceled batting practice to undergo further testing — the game was postponed a short time later — Amburgey said he was not in Thursday’s lineup but expected to be starting 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 fielders this season, but Amburgey will now provide another corner outfield option while Clint Frazier (dizziness) and Miguel Andujar (left wrist strain) are on the injured list.
“I’ve been ready,” Amburgey said. “I’ve been telling everyone around me I’ve been ready. So whenever the call came, I was ready.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated [waiting]. It’s a dream to come up here and play for the Yankees. At the same time, I knew going into the year it was going to be tough, not playing last year. So I had a tough mound to climb, but being here now, I’m ready to go whenever they call my name.”
Amburgey, 26, who grew up a Red Sox fan because his mom and grandparents were from Boston, was looking forward to making his debut against them. He expected to have 11 family members and friends in attendance after sharing the news with them late Wednesday night, following RailRiders manager Doug Davis breaking the promotion to him.
“I was like, ‘I’m gonna go try to wake up my wife,’ because she went to bed, it was past midnight,” Amburgey said. “So I said, ‘Hey, guess where I’ll be tomorrow?’ I started crying and just lost it. I called my parents right after. They were supposed to go to some concert or something this weekend and I was like, ‘You gotta cancel it.’ They were like, ‘Why?’ I’m like, ‘I’ll be in The Bronx.’ My mom lost it. So it was a good moment.”
Amburgey, the Yankees’ 13th-round pick in 2015, attributed his improved results this season to a change in approach.
“Staying in my zone, not buying into what [the pitcher is] trying to do,” Amburgey said. “So far it’s worked and hopefully I can continue to do it up here.”