Brian Gordon has opted out of his contract with the Phillies and will sign with the Yankees, according to to Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter, courtesy Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer). There is a condition in Gordon's contract that stipulated he be added to an acquiring team's Major League roster should he opt out, as Davidoff recently reported.
Gordon began his professional career as an outfielder with the Diamondbacks, by whom he was drafted in the seventh round in 1997, according to Brookover. Not progressing as a position player, Gordon made the conversion to pitching with the Rangers organization in 2007 and appeared in four games with Texas in 2008, but that was his only stint in the bigs. In 55 1/3 innings (12 outings, nine starts) with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, Gordon has a 1.14 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9.
