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Back on June 1 Tyler Wade said how excited he was to be chosen as the future Ben Zobrist-like utilty man for the New York Yankees.

Now, it looks like the future has turned into the present.

With Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro injuring his right hamstring while running out a grounder against the Chicago White Sox Monday night, YES Network pregame and postgame analyst Jack Curry tweeted during the Yankees’ game that he was “hearing” Wade would be added to the 40-man roster and will join the team in Chicago on Tuesday. Pinstriped Prospects Trenton Thunder beat writer Matt Kardos also reported Wade was getting the call to The Show.

Wade was pulled from his game in Syracuse ahead of the bottom of the fifth inning after an hour-and- 44-minute rain delay, which the RailRiders ended up losing 5-2. The Yankees made the move official Tuesday afternoon.

“At the end of the day, I want to be in the big leagues,” Wade said earlier this month. “Our team right now in the big leagues is a very talented team and it’s going to be an exciting time for them and I want to be a part of that. I want to help the team in any way possible. Giving guys days off once a week and then me being able to get in the lineup four or five times is huge. I’m just excited about the role.”

Wade has played second and third base, shortstop and every outfield position for the RailRiders this season. While he has committed a team-high 13 errors this season, the 22-year-old has looked impressive all over the diamond, and especially in the infield.

And as good as Wade’s been in the field, his bat has been even stronger.

He’s batting .366 over his last 25 games — prior to Monday — with eight extra-base hits, 16 walks and 25 runs scored and 9 RBI. Most impressively, Wade’s 24 steals tops Triple-A.

“My job as a lead-off guy or wherever I’m hitting in the lineup is to get on base and use my speed,” Wade said. “My mentality basically stays the same — find a pitch I can handle and put a good swing on it.”

Wade has been so impressive this season that Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said last month that he wouldn’t be surprised if Wade one day took a player’s job at the next level, instead of just being a utility player.

“He’d be a guy that you’d think of like a Pete Rose or a guy that’s not high on the skill-set (not) like an Aaron Judge or a — we have another kid down in the minor league system — (Miguel) Andujar, these have with the big skills, big bodies, strong, like Clint Frazier,” Jackson said. “You look at them and go, ‘Oh, wow.’ Tyler, he’s got a big heart. You’re going to have hell stopping him.”

Wade brings massive position flexibility to the Yankees’ roster and will add speed and pop wherever manager Joe Girardi decides to play him. Wade has five home runs and 16 doubles this season.

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By DJ Eberle

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Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle