The Yankees’ Miguel Andujar alarm gets louder

Rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar made two more errors in the 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, August 12, 2018 (8/12/18). Andujar has 12 errors this season, but is hitting .293 with 17 home runs.

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NEW YORK — Miguel Andujar‘s head was down. He looked at his feet as he kicked the dirt around in front of him. When he picked up his eyes, he pounded his glove.

The rookie third baseman’s body language indicated he was mad at himself, though later he’d deny it. And manager Aaron Boone would say the 23-year-old is still growing up in the major leagues.

But the Yankees have to be concerned that Andujar’s defense isn’t progressing the way they hoped — the latest examples coming in a 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

“Errors are part of the game and I made a mistake there,” Andujar said, via a translator. “I’ll put it away, come back (Monday).”

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He’ll come back. But will he be better for it?

Andujar made a pair of errors Sunday. One wasn’t so bad. The other was.

Most advanced metrics rank Andujar as the American League’s worst overall defensive third baseman — by quite a margin — with 12 errors, which rank fifth among third baseman in the majors. The dozen errors tie for the team high with fellow rookie Gleyber Torres, a second baseman who’s actually considered a strong defender.

At the same time, Andujar has kept himself in the American League Rookie of the Year talk, hitting .293 with 17 homers and 56 RBI.

“Growing them on the fly in the big leagues, there [are] going to be growing pains and there [are] going to be tough stretches that you have,” Boone said. “That’s part of it. That’s part of being a young player, too. I feel like he’s made so many strides.”

In the second inning, Anudjar backhanded Adrian Beltre’s grounder near the foul line. His throw — tough, because of its length – was wide of the bag. If the throw had been on target, Beltre would’ve been out.

In the sixth, Andujar tried to backhand a grounder by Elvis Andrus, but the in-between hop bounced off Andujar’s glove and into left field. Andrus reached second base.

On the next play, Andujar — who spent the at-bat pounding his glove and shaking his head — had time to throw out Jurickson Profar on a routine grounder. Andujar double-pumped and threw it sidearm. First baseman Luke Voit saved a third Andujar error with a scoop.

“If you’re a little indecisive, those kinds of plays can happen, and I think that’s what’s happened a little bit lately,” Boone said. “But we’ve also seen through this stretch him make a lot of really good plays. I’m confident the work he continues to do, he’ll continue to grow and he’ll continue to get better out there.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.