The New York Yankees and utilityman Amed Rosario are in agreement on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, sources told ESPN on Saturday, reuniting the two sides after a brief and fruitful stint last season.
Rosario’s deal includes another $250,000 in possible incentives, according to a source. The Yankees brought the veteran back for the same reason they initially acquired him from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline in July: to give them more versatility with another right-handed batter.
Rosario, 30, a former top prospect and a subpar defender, excels in one category after nine major league seasons: hitting left-handed pitching. Last season, he batted .302 with four home runs and an .819 OPS in 122 plate appearances against lefties. Overall with the Yankees, he batted .303 with a .788 OPS in 16 games before going 3-for-10 in four postseason games.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman this offseason has classified the Yankees being so left-handed as a problem he hoped to solve. Rosario is one piece in that effort.
“I definitely want to give Aaron Boone some legitimate choices so he can match up when we’re facing a left-handed starter because obviously we’re so left-handed that it’s a vulnerability right now,” Cashman said at the Winter Meetings this week. “There’s not a lot of right-handed bats in the game that are accessible.”
Rosario figures to platoon at third base with the left-handed-hitting Ryan McMahon — his primary role with the Yankees last season — but he also played second base and outfield down the stretch. Off the field, the upbeat Rosario supplied a jolt of energy to the dugout and clubhouse that was welcomed by teammates and coaches after joining the Yankees in a trade that sent right-hander Clayton Beeter and outfielder Brown Martinez to the Nationals.
New York was interested in signing Rosario the past two offseasons as a bench player, but he joined the Tampa Bay Rays and Nationals on one-year contracts in a starting role. This time, the Yankees landed their target.
