The Mariners and outfielder Eric Young Jr. have agreed to a deal, as Young himself announced on Twitter and Instagram. It’s a minor league pact for the 33-year-old speedster, MLBTR has confirmed. Young spent the majority of Spring Training in camp with the Orioles before being granted his release when he was informed he wouldn’t make the club. He’s repped by MVP Sports Group.
Young batted .323/.462/.452 with a homer, a double and a pair of stolen bases through 39 plate appearances in a strong spring showing for the Orioles but was nonetheless left off the Opening Day roster. He’s spent the past two seasons with the Angels, batting a combined .233/.293/.361 with five long balls, nine doubles, a pair of triples and 17 steals over the life of 242 PAs. Statcast shows that even as he enters his mid-30s, Young can still flat-out fly around the bases. His 29.0 ft/sec average sprint speed ranked in the 91st percentile of big leaguers a year ago.
The Mariners’ outfield is set with Domingo Santana in left field, Mallex Smith in center field and Mitch Haniger in right field. Jay Bruce, currently slotted in at first base, figures to still see some time on the outfield grass in 2019 as well. Seattle’s primary 40-man option for a reserve center fielder is Braden Bishop, who made his MLB debut in the second of two season-opening games in Tokyo, so it’s possible that Young could eventually work his way up to the big league level with a solid showing in Triple-A Tacoma. Should that eventually play out, he’d give Seattle three of the league’s fastest players alongside Smith and Dee Gordon.
In parts of 10 MLB seasons split between the Mets, Rockies, Angels and Yankees, Young is a .245/.312/.332 hitter with 13 homers, 67 doubles, 22 triples and 162 stolen bases.
Also, he was on the Braves
Lol
Looked great with the birds this ST, best of luck to a great teammate, clubhouse guy. Hope he gets a shot with them this yr. He earned it…
All the O’s outfield players ranted & raved about his mentoring the young kids.
So someone explain to me why he wouldn’t just stay in the Orioles? Can we assume he wouldn’t have his minor league deal in place there? Seems like a good place to stay if he’s gonna keep fighting for a job.
The only thing I could think of is that since the orioles are a 100 loss team this year, they would be more willing to give playing time to younger outfielders. EYJ wouldn’t be much of a trade deadline candidate given his career production, so maybe the M’s make more sense (especially when they inevitably trade Jay Bruce later this season).
Mallex Smith has also been injured this spring so its insurance for us too.
I don’t know if the O’s have young outfielders so I’m just guessing.
Jay Bruce, currently slotted in at first base, figures to still see some time on the outfield grass in 2019 as well.
Hopefully he’s not to “Still” out there, I know he’s old.
Looked decent in spring on the outfield. Maybe average at best out there but moved better than I thought he would tbh
Actually Bruce looked more than capable out there this Spring. He made a few nice plays in RF against the Yomiuri Giants. He’s not Nelson Cruz. He’s no Mitch Haniger either. He’s somewhere in between. Jay can definitely give someone a day off if need be without it being too much of a downgrade.
Bruce still has alot left in the tank. More than I thought. He hit a home run in Spring training and he flew around the base path during his home run trot. I was expecting something akin to Nelson Cruz’s home run trot. Slow and lumbering. He could have a surprising year
E.Y. is the kind of player playoff teams love to have on the bench. He can play all three OF positions, he has game changing speed and he has a clue at the plate. This is a smart depth signing..
I was thinking the same. Trade bait, for a young prospect, which Jerry loves to stockpile. I hadn’t heard the mentoring thing but if he’s a good influence, more the better.
Doubt he could be trade bait (for a young prospect) given his career production but I also like the signing. Sounds like a great guy in the clubhouse.
I bet the Angels wished they still had EYJ
God bless you, Eric! Make some memories with the Ms!