Recent Christmas Day Transactions

Happy Holidays, MLBTR readers! We hope you’re all enjoying the season of giving. December 25th is typically a quiet day for transactional news, but it’s not altogether uncommon for teams to make small moves. Since the turn of the millenium, there have been a few players to receive Christmas presents in the form of minor league contracts, and even one who earned a major league deal. Here’s a quick recap of the Christmas Day signings since the year 2000…

2016

• The Tigers signed left-fielder Quincy Latimore to a minor league deal.
• The Red Sox inked third baseman Heiker Meneses and left fielder Brian Bogusevic to minors pacts, the latter of whom was extended an invitation to spring training camp.

2013

• The Yankees reached a deal with right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama on a minor league contract that included a spring training invite.

2012

• The Cubs signed right-hander Jaye Chapman to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

2007

• The Giants signed right-hander Keiichi Yabu to a minors pact with a spring training invite.

2004

• The Cardinals signed Abraham Nunez, a utility infield type, to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
• The Royals signed right-hander Jose Lima to a major league contract. The club also added infielder Luis Ugueto on a minor league deal with a spring training invite.