Brandon Drury
Drury with the San Diego Padres in 2022
Los Angeles Angels – No. 23
Utility player
Born: (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 31)
Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2015, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.254
Home runs105
Runs batted in360
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Brandon Shane Drury (born August 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2010 and made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2015.

Career

Amateur career

Drury attended Grants Pass High School in Grants Pass, Oregon, where he played shortstop for the school's baseball team. He committed to play college baseball at Oregon State University.[1]

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves selected Drury in the 13th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.[2][3] He signed and made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Braves. He finished the year hitting .198/.248/.292 with three home runs over 192 at bats. In 2011, he played for the Danville Braves of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.[4] In 63 games, he hit .347/.367/.525 with eight home runs in 265 at-bats. He was named the most valuable player of the Appalachian League along with Eddie Rosario.[5] In 2012, while playing for the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League, he hit only .229/.270/.333 with six home runs in 445 at-bats.[6]

Arizona Diamondbacks

Drury with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016

On January 24, 2013, the Braves traded Drury, along with Martín Prado, Randall Delgado, Zeke Spruill, and Nick Ahmed to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson.[7] He played his first season in the Diamondbacks organization with the South Bend Silver Hawks.[8] In 134 games, he hit .302/.362/.500 with 15 home runs. He started the 2014 season for the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League, and in August was promoted to the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League.[9][10] He had a .299 batting average, 23 home runs and 95 RBI. After the season, Drury was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he played for the Salt River Rafters.[11]

In 2015, the Diamondbacks invited Drury to spring training and assigned him to Mobile to begin the season.[12][13] On June 23, he was promoted to the Reno Aces of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.[14] The Diamondbacks called Drury up to the major leagues on September 1, 2015, and he made his debut that day.[15] Drury collected his first major league hit, a single, off Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray.[16] Drury hit his first home run on September 22, off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Adam Liberatore.[17]

Due to his strong offensive performance, Drury was mentioned as a possible backup outfielder during spring training in 2016.[18] He became one of the last players to make the Diamondbacks 2016 Opening Day roster.[19] The Diamondbacks occasionally started Drury in the outfield as well as second and third base to keep his bat in the lineup.[20] Drury was optioned to Reno to clear a roster spot for Shelby Miller on June 19, despite hitting .275/.313/.456 up to that point in the season.[21][22] The Diamondbacks recalled Drury on June 24, a day after outfielder Socrates Brito had fractured a toe on his right foot.[23][24]

New York Yankees

On February 20, 2018, the Diamondbacks traded Drury to the New York Yankees in a three-team trade, where they acquired Steven Souza from the Tampa Bay Rays and Taylor Widener from the Yankees, while the Rays also acquired Nick Solak from the Yankees and Anthony Banda and two player to be named later (Colin Poche and Sam McWilliams) from the Diamondbacks.[25]

On April 6, 2018, Drury left the game due to blurred vision and migraines. The next day, Drury was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to severe migraines.[26] On May 14, he was activated from the disabled list, and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.[27]

Toronto Blue Jays

Drury with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020

On July 26, 2018, the Yankees traded Drury and Billy McKinney to the Toronto Blue Jays for J. A. Happ.[28] Drury was placed on the disabled list on August 7 with a broken left hand, eight games into his tenure with the Blue Jays.[29] In 2019, Drury played the majority of the season, appearing at multiple positions, despite having a second straight season in which he struggled offensively. Overall, Drury hit .218 with 15 home runs and 41 runs batted in. On September 1, 2020, Drury was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.[30] To that point in the season, Drury had hit .152/.184/.174 over 49 plate appearances. He was outrighted on September 4.[31] Drury elected free agency on October 6, 2020.

New York Mets

Drury with the Mets in 2021

On January 5, 2021, Drury signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets organization.[32] He began the 2021 season with the Syracuse Mets of Triple-A East.[33] On May 21, the Mets selected Drury to their active roster.[34] He hit his first home run as a Met on May 24, a ninth inning pinch hit home run off Austin Gomber of the Colorado Rockies.[35][36] He batted .274 with four home runs for the Mets before he was designated for assignment on October 2.[37] On October 14, Drury elected free agency.[38]

Cincinnati Reds

On March 21, 2022, Drury signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[39] On April 5, it was announced that Drury had made the Reds’ Opening Day roster.[40] Drury ended up as the starting third baseman and had a breakout year, with him being considered the Reds best offensive player of the first half, and some arguing that he deserved to be an All-Star.[41]

San Diego Padres

On August 2, 2022, the Reds traded Drury to the San Diego Padres for Victor Acosta.[42] He hit a grand slam on the first pitch that he saw as a Padre on August 3.[43]

Los Angeles Angels

On December 22, 2022, Drury signed a 2-year, $17 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.[44]

References

  1. ^ "Brandon Drury Class of 2010 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Perfect Game.
  2. ^ Daschel, Nick (June 8, 2010). "Three Oregon high school stars get first-year call in MLB draft". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Piecoro, Nick (August 26, 2014). "Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Brandon Drury making big strides". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Danville Braves Announce 2011 Roster". MILB.com. June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Wild, Danny (August 24, 2011). "Rosario, Drury named Appy's best". MILB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Rallo, Curt (August 15, 2013). "MWL notes: Drury follows the leaders". MILB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "Braves get Justin Upton in big deal". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 24, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  8. ^ Rallo, Curt (April 23, 2013). "Silver Hawks: After a cold start, Drury heating up". South Bend Tribune. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  9. ^ Buchanan, Zach (April 18, 2014). "3B prospect Brandon Drury could be bright spot in Upton trade". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  10. ^ Hicks, Tommy (August 28, 2014). "Diamondbacks' prospect Brandon Drury comfortable with promotion to Mobile BayBears". Birmingham News. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  11. ^ Pleskoff, Bernie (October 9, 2015). "Scouting Report: Brandon Drury". MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  12. ^ Shingleton, Grant (June 12, 2015). "BayBears infielder Brandon Drury wants 'good at-bats'". Birmingham News. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  13. ^ Bloom, Barry M. (March 20, 2015). "Prospect Drury among three optioned to Double-A by D-backs". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  14. ^ Jackson, Josh (July 30, 2015). "Drury doubles three times in five-hit game". MILB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  15. ^ Gilbert, Steve (September 1, 2016). "Drury's audition gives D-backs a good problem". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  16. ^ Manning, Deena (November 4, 2015). "GP's Drury looks back on experience". Grants Pass Daily Courier. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2016 – via Mail Tribune.
  17. ^ Humburg, J.D. (September 23, 2015). "Former Oregon prep star Brandon Drury delivers first MLB home run in Diamondbacks win". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  18. ^ Piecoro, Nick (March 13, 2016). "Brandon Drury might be a Plan B in Diamondbacks' outfield". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  19. ^ Piecoro, Nick (April 2, 2016). "Brandon Drury slugs his way to Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  20. ^ Bordow, Scott (April 28, 2016). "Brandon Drury's bat earning him additional playing time". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  21. ^ Gilbert, Steve (June 19, 2016). "Brito, Miller recalled among flurry of moves". MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  22. ^ Piecoro, Nick (June 19, 2016). "D-Backs option Brandon Drury, clear room for Shelby Miller". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  23. ^ "D-backs place Brito on DL with broken toe, recall Drury". Fox Sports. June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  24. ^ Gilbert, Steve (June 24, 2016). "Drury recalled by D-backs as Brito hits DL". MLB.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  25. ^ "D-backs get Souza from TB, trade Drury to NYY". MLB.com.
  26. ^ "Yankees place Sabathia, Drury on DL". MLB. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  27. ^ "Brandon Drury activated from DL, optioned to AAA". MLB. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  28. ^ Thosar, Deesha (July 26, 2018). "Yankees add Happ in deal with Blue Jays". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  29. ^ Rose, Aaron (August 7, 2018). "Drury placed on DL with broken left hand". MLB.com. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  30. ^ "Blue Jays Designate Daniel Vogelbach, Brandon Drury, Sam Gaviglio". MLB Trade Rumors. September 2020.
  31. ^ "Blue Jays Release Sam Gaviglio, Outright Brandon Drury". MLB Trade Rumors. 4 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Mets Sign Brandon Drury To Minor-League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. 8 January 2021.
  33. ^ Puma, Mike (June 2, 2021). "Breaking down Mets' fill-ins who have played key roles". New York Post.
  34. ^ "Mets Put Alonso On IL, Select Drury, DFA Zamora". MLB Trade Rumors. 21 May 2021.
  35. ^ Ryan, Chris (May 24, 2021). "Mets lose yet another player to injury as Rockies earn road win". NJ.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  36. ^ Blum, Ronald (May 24, 2021). "Gomber pitches Colorado over Mets 3-2, Rockies' 3rd road win". Associated Press. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  37. ^ "Mets Activate Robert Gsellman, Designate Brandon Drury". MLB Trade Rumors. 2 October 2021.
  38. ^ "Players Recently Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. 16 October 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  39. ^ "Reds, Brandon Drury Agree To Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. 21 March 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  40. ^ "Cincinnati Reds set 11-man bullpen, Opening Day roster comes into focus". cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  41. ^ "C. Notes: Brandon Drury's road from Mets roster casualty to the Reds' likeliest All-Star".
  42. ^ Sheldon, Mark. "Reds net 4 prospects for Mahle, Drury". MLB.com.
  43. ^ "Brandon Drury hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw as a San Diego Padre". 4 August 2022.
  44. ^ Bollinger, Rhett (December 22, 2022). "Drury, Angels finalize 2-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brandon Drury.
Los Angeles Angels current roster
Sporting News National League Comeback Player of the Year Award
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