Is Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres or Gary Sanchez Yankees’ biggest defensive liability?

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez committed two passed balls and allowed two wild pitches in the 8-2 loss to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 (9/5/18). But rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar is having fielding problems of his own, which could be a big problem in the American League Wild Card race.

Which Yankees player is most responsible for the team’s fielding struggles?

Knee-jerk instinct is to point to catcher Gary Sanchez, who had two passed balls and was on the receiving end of two wild pitches in Wednesday’s 8-2 loss to the Oakland A’s.

Mark Simon of The Athletic examined the defensive problems of four playoff contenders: Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers and Phillies.

What he discovered about the Yankees’ fielding follies might be a bit of surprise.

There was a brief period in which statistically speaking, the Yankees rated as the best defensive team in the American League. But they’ve hit a bit of a rut.

Even their shifting, which had been very good for much of the season, isn’t working like it had been. They’ve converted outs on 60 percent of groundballs and short line drives since Aug. 15, the worst rate in the majors (prior to that, it was right around the league average of 73 percent).

The primary culprit, whether shifting or not shifting, is a player who has struggled defensively all season, third baseman Miguel Andujar, who has cost the Yankees seven runs defensively in that span. Andujar has struggled with both fielding and throwing — his 90 percent good-throw rating ranks second-worst among third basemen this season.

The Yankees have to be wary of any ball hit down the third-base line the rest of the season, which isn’t a comforting feeling for the likes of lefties CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ, who will likely see a bunch of right-handed hitters. Adeiny Hechavarria may be the Yankees “closer” at third base, but they still have cause for concern when Andujar is in. The catching of Gary Sanchez is also a problem spot. Sanchez failed to block two wild pitches and two passed balls in the Yankees’ loss to the Athletics on Wednesday. He has consistently rated at the bottom of the league in pitch blocking. The Yankees do have a highly capable backup in Austin Romine, but inserting him into the lineup would take out Sanchez’s potentially valuable bat.

To a lesser degree, Brett Gardner has not looked like his usual self in the outfield. He has one Good Fielding Play and four Defensive Misplays & Errors since the All-Star Break after recording eight and six respectively in the first half. But his track record gives you a little more feeling of comfort than Andujar and Sanchez.

Yankees 9 issues

Andujar has committed 15 errors this season. That’s fourth-worst among all MLB third basemen. His .940 fielding percentage is second-worst among major league third basemen.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.