The Yankees and first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Klutch Sports client will presumably be in big league camp during spring training.
Brown, 33, has had some big league success with the Athletics but is coming off a few uneven years. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he stepped to the plate 862 times for the A’s. His 27.3% strikeout rate in that time was certainly high but his 8.6% walk rate was close to average and he hit 45 home runs. He had a combined .22/.294/.457 batting line for those two years, leading to a wRC+ of 111, indicating he was 11 percent better than the league average hitter.
But his production tailed off from there. Over the next two campaigns, he took 778 plate appearances with a 7.1% walk rate and 28 home runs. His .227/.284/.392 line for those two years led to a 91 wRC+, putting him nine percent below average. Since he’s not a burner on the basepaths nor an amazing defender, the lack of offense put him on thin ice.
Last year was even worse. He struggled enough to get designated for assignment in May, clearing waivers a few days later. He crushed minor league pitching for a few games and got called back up in early June, but then hit the injured list due to left elbow lateral epicondylitis. At the end of June, he was released. He signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks and spent just over a month with their Triple-A team. He opted out of his deal in early August but then didn’t sign anywhere else.
Around those transactions, he took 76 big league plate appearances for the year with a dismal .185/.303/.262 line in those. His minor league production was far better, as he slashed .352/.416/.697 in 161 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. That was in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and he was helped by a .376 batting average on balls in play but his 159 wRC+ was impressive nonetheless.
For the Yankees, there’s little harm in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal. He doesn’t have a great path to big league playing time at the moment. The Yanks project to have Ben Rice at first base, Aaron Judge in one outfield corner, Jasson Domínguez in another, with Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter slot. Outfield prospect Spencer Jones could push for a job in spring training. The Yankees are also trying to re-sign Cody Bellinger. If they succeed, that would further crowd the outfield and first base charts.
All clubs make non-roster additions like this for extra depth, however, as twists and turns are inevitable over a long season. Stanton is 36 years old and hasn’t avoided the injured list over a full season since 2018. Judge is about to turn 34 and would ideally get some time in the DH slot himself. Domínguez hasn’t really established himself as a viable big leaguer yet and still has options. Rice could end up behind the plate if a catcher gets hurt. Jones hit 35 homers last year but also struck out in 35.4% of his plate appearances. The standoff with Bellinger might lead to him signing elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images
I thought he retired???
That’s Seth Smith.
I realized i mixed up him and Pinder
Bellinger replacement
Seth will only get a call up if Rice is cooked
That’s exactly what we needed. Another left-handed bat. Welcome to New York.
Just clinched the AL East…
*International League East
Go RailRiders!!
Yankees finally make a move.
Well…..it is not Belli…..but it is something
Perfect! Fills in for both Belli and Goldy. Here we come Opening Day!
“He had a combined .22”
Huh.
Might as well be .22.
Or .67
Sounds like an early Houston Colt .45’s batting line.
The Yankees finally sign a left handed hitting 1B/OF.
If he was a right-handed bat, this would be a little more serviceable signing, but depth is always good.
Yeah just depth. He fell off so sharply though that i forgot he existed! Still you never know when a comeback could hit one of these guys.
They just wanted to see what Brown could do for them
Amazing how many stupid comments a minute league depth sighing initiates. I guess it’s the norm for a non-spectacular Yankee signing and a bored fanbase.
I was gonna say you had no sense of humor till I found out you’re a Knicks fan.
Almost as amazing as the number of unfunny jokes about a player’s name that get posted—and liked!
Stop being such an Angry Young Man, Piano Man.
Don’t insult him. He plays the bass trombone professionally.
His future looks quite bright to me.
when your dream ended years ago, but you’re still asleep and don’t realize it.
God forbid a man continues to seek out more experience and earnings in his chosen profession.
Baked: I’m with you. Why disparage a marginal player who’s trying to find a spot and make a little money while he can?
He gets a small chance to pay the game he loves. And if it’s called up he names the league minimum, which is good money to normal people.
Ha ha. When you think you are being clever and witty on the internet, but are just revealing how much of a fwit you are.
This will offset losing bichette and tucker
Did they make on offer to either of those two?
He had mistaken this for a Jays post.
Yeah,that fits now.
I see transactions like this and cannot understand why the Royals did not make this move instead of the Yankees. Even the version of Seth Brown who was DFAed by the As last year would have competed for playing time in the KC outfield last year. If he was willing to sign for a minor league deal why were the Royals not willing to give him a shot? Last year, and probably next year, he would have a lot of opportunity in KC. Any bounce back at all and he would likely be the third best OFer in the organization.
Goodbye Cody Bellinger
That’s exactly what we needed another left-handed bat.😂 welcome to New York
Dude is going to play AAA and wait for a injury, best case for him is picking up some service time