Dugas called up with Beltran hurting
ANAHEIM -- The phone call that Taylor Dugas had been dreaming about his whole life came early Wednesday morning, ordering him to get to Philadelphia and board a cross-country flight to be in uniform for the New York Yankees that afternoon.
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Standing in the visiting clubhouse at Angel Stadium, where a hastily scribbled piece of paper served as his locker nameplate, the 25-year-old Dugas discussed being summoned from Double-A Trenton to serve as an extra outfielder after Carlos Beltran was hurt in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Angels.
"I wasn't in big league camp. I was kind of surprised when I got the call," Dugas said. "I can't say I was expecting it. I was kind of in awe, getting that phone call for the first time. It's a feeling that is hard to explain. Until you go through it, I was just sitting there in shock with a couple of my roommates. It was an awesome feeling, I'll say that."
With Beltran still hoping to avoid the disabled list, the Yankees outrighted right-hander Esmil Rogers to Triple-A to make room for Dugas. Beltran said he would try hitting in the cages on Wednesday, and manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees would likely have Beltran examined on Thursday or Friday, when they return to New York.
"That's a good sign, that he didn't wake up and feel really sore," Girardi said. "So we won't make any move concerning him, and we'll see what happens in a couple days when we get back."
Dugas said the Yankees' game was on television in the Thunder clubhouse after Trenton's 4-3 win over Altoona on Tuesday, and some of his teammates were discussing Beltran's fifth-inning exit, when the veteran aggravated a left rib cage injury while swinging at a foul ball.
Coming off a strong showing in 2014, when he posted a .299/.399/.390 split line in 112 games for Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Dugas was hitting just .198 (32-for-162) this season, so he hardly anticipated that Beltran's injury would score him a ticket to the big leagues.
"He's a guy who can provide us with some depth in the outfield," Girardi said. "We can put him at either corner. We felt we needed another outfielder with Carlos being down and [Jose] Pirela only playing a little bit out there."
Dugas said that his first phone call was to his father, David, down in Lafayette, La.
"I woke him up. He didn't really believe me, I don't think, at first," Dugas said. "I was excited about that. Then I called the rest of my family and everyone was excited. It's just a great moment."