NEW YORK — It was not anything that Rob Refsnyder did. It was just that he got caught up in a numbers game at second base.
That’s how his first taste of the major leagues ended after four games when the Yankees optioned the prospect to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
The converted outfielder joined the Yankees last weekend in Boston to face consecutive left-handed starters. He faced another left-hander Friday before going 0-for-3 Saturday.
He had two hits in 12 at-bats, though one was a clutch two-run home run a week ago in Boston, making him the first Yankees second baseman since at least 1914 to homer in either of his first two major league games.
“I wasn’t really promised anything, so I just took it day by day, at-bat by at-bat,” said Refsnysder, outside the Yankees clubhouse about an hour before first pitch. “So I wasn’t expecting this, but I got my feet wet, saw what major league quality pitching, defense and hitting is all about. So it was a good experience.”
A move was needed to get right fielder Carlos Beltran on the roster after he spent two weeks on the disabled list with a strained left oblique.
Some thought that backup infielder Brendan Ryan might be expendable. Unlike Refsnyder, Ryan can play three infield positions and even some first base in an emergency.
And even for his low batting average, the Yankees were unlikely to cut ties with Stephen Drew, who has four hits in his last 25 at-bats and is hitting .181 with 12 home runs.
“If you look at our roster, there’s a lot of proven veterans,” Refsnyder said. “There’s a lot of guys with a lot of experience and I’ve experienced seven, eight or nine days. It comes as one of those things where I’m probably the low guy on the totem pole. We got veterans on this team with experience and assets and things like that.”
Refsnyder was partially in uniform when he spoke about his week in the majors and the meeting he had with the Yankees that he described as “really complimentary.”
“We brought him to face the lefties to start,” New York manager Joe Girardi said. “We just felt that we’re in first place and Stephen Drew has played a part in that and we play a lot of games in this ballpark and this ballpark is favorable to him and we’re going to stay with him for right now.”