Yankees Sign Kelly Johnson

The Yankees have signed Kelly Johnson to a one-year contract, the team announced today.  Terms of the deal weren't made public but ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the deal is for exactly $3MM (Twitter link), giving Johnson a small raise from the $2.45MM he earned with Tampa Bay in 2013.  Johnson is represented by Relativity Baseball (formerly known as SFX Baseball), according to the MLBTR Agency Database.

Johnson has primarily played second base over the course of his career but he also offers experience at left field and saw some time at third base in 2013.  He currently stands as the Yankees' top option to replace Robinson Cano at second base, and if New York signs another second baseman, Johnson also serves as an insurance policy for Alex Rodriguez at third.  Johnson, 32 in February, owns a career slash line of .253/.335/.427 across eight seasons with the Braves, D'Backs, Blue Jays, and Rays. Over the last three seasons, however, he has slashed just .226/.307/.395.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report the agreement had been reached and that Johnson would be paid in the $3MM-range, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal.

MLBTR's Zach Links contributed to this post.