Peter O'Brien has started taking reps at first base, and Jose Pirela's been moving around to a lot of new positions in Triple-A, which could mean Rob Refsnyder is close to being promoted.
If you've been reading Tanya's minor league recaps, you should know that Peter O'Brien has been having a fantastic season. He started the year in Tampa before being promoted to Trenton, and between the two he's hit 21 home runs and is batting .285/.321/.638. During his time in the minor leagues, O'Brien has mainly played catcher, although he has also spent some time at third base and in the outfield. Now he is also going to learn first base. There had been quite a bit of talk about whether O'Brien should change positions, as he has not been great defensively at catcher (without even considering the face that the system is already loaded with catchers), so this makes a lot of sense. O'Brien started taking reps at first base yesterday and commented that it feels like a natural position to him, so hopefully he'll be okay in terms of defense.
Meanwhile, Jose Pirela played first base in Triple-A yesterday, which is significant because he's spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues playing second, third and shortstop. This year he's seen time in the outfield, and now at first base. If Pirela shows that he is able to handle first base, he could be called up to backup Mark Teixeira, and the Yankees could certainly use his bat (.340/.377/.479). Also, all of this moving around for Pirela could mean that they're looking to make room for second-baseman Rob Refsnyder to be promoted. Refsnyder has been raking in Trenton, hitting .339/.381/.549 with six home runs. Too bad he can't just replace Brian Roberts. Even so, it's still nice to hear about minor league players hitting well while the Yankees' offense has been struggling.