The Yankees had always liked Giovanny Urshela. He was the kind of player who both their scouting and analytic wings said was intriguing. Brian Cashman, while explaining that, also said the third baseman was viewed as an “insurance policy.”

The Yankees purchased him from the Blue Jays last August, but did not protect him on the 40-man roster during the offseason. The Yankees loved his defense at third base and were curious if he could build further value by moving around the infield plus.

“We thought he had gas in the tank on the hitting side,” Cashman said.

In parts of three seasons with the Indians and Blue Jays, Urshela hit .225 with a .589 OPS in 167 games. He was 27. But late last season in Triple-A with the Yankees, Urshela’s bat produced, then early in spring training, Aaron Boone pulled Cashman aside and said of Urshela, “The offensive stuff may be for real.” The Yankees manager would reiterate that throughout March in conversations with team executives.

“[Boone] was seeing stuff in the swing and impact and was having dialogue with me about it,” Cashman said. “That was when the roster was at full health. He was excited about what he was seeing [in Urshela].”

Urshela was promoted April 6 because the Yankees were not at full health, and he has been vital in the team staying afloat through a period of injury devastation. Expectedly, Urshela’s defense has been superb. In 22 games and 70 plate appearances, he has honored Boone’s assessment by hitting .339 with a .900 OPS.

If you wanted to be hopeful that this was more than a brief flourish, Urshela’s line-drive rates and exit velocity are both better than league average, and he is using the whole field well.

I do see some parallels here with Scott Brosius. It is not totally apples to apples because in 1996, Brosius had hit .304 with 22 homers. But in 1997, his average sank to .203, and the A’s were anxious enough to get rid of him that they accepted in return the chance to revive the Yankees’ Sonny Gray of that time, Kenny Rogers. The Yankees saw Brosius as either a defense-first third baseman or perhaps a Randy Velarde type who would move around.

But Brosius defended expertly in 1998 as anticipated, hit to a level not expected, made an All-Star Game and won the World Series MVP. Suddenly the Yankees were trading their third baseman of the future, Mike Lowell, and keeping Brosius long-term.

We are far from Urshela galvanizing such a role with the Yankees. But he is not going anywhere right now. He is out of options, so the Yankees cannot return him to the minors without exposing him to waivers, and Urshela has done enough that multiple other teams would be enticed to put in a waiver claim to see if he is indeed Brosius.

The Yankees still need Urshela as insurance for Miguel Andujar (shoulder), who is due back soon. There are scenarios in which Urshela remains a regularly used third baseman while Andujar and Luke Voit share first base/DH, and then the Yankees reconsider again when Giancarlo Stanton comes back. Andujar can be sent to the minors if necessary.

What if I told you a year ago that the Yankees’ infield corners would be Voit and Urshela, and that they would be happy about it? Well, that’s at least possible.