Yankees and first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. A Klutch Sports client will likely be in big league camp during spring training.
Brown, 33, had major league success with the Athletics but is coming off a few uneven years. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he went to the plate 862 times for the A’s. His 27.3% strikeout rate during that span was quite 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 over those two years, resulting in a wRC+ of 111, which was 11 percent better than the league average hitter.
But his production took off from there. Over the next two campaigns, he made 778 plate appearances with a 7.1% walk rate and 28 home runs. His .227/.284/.392 line over those two years led to a 91 wRC+, which puts him nine percent below average. Not exactly a hot laner and not a spectacular quarterback, his innocence put him on thin ice.
Last year it was even worse. He struggled enough to be designated for assignment in May, clearing waivers a few days later. He pitched in the minor leagues for a few games and was called up again in early June, but then hit the injured list with elbow lateral epicondylitis. At the end of June, he was released. He signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks and spent more than a month with their Triple-A team. He opted out of his contract in early August but did not sign elsewhere.
Within that transaction, he picked up 76 major league plate appearances on the year with a .185/.303/.262 slash line in that stretch. His minor league production improved significantly, 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 is little harm in bringing him in on a minor league deal. He doesn’t have a great path to the big league season right now. A must have project for the Yanks Ben Rice in the beginning, Aaron is the judge in one corner of the field, Jason Domínguez in another, with Giancarlo Stanton in the selected calling area. The outside hope Spencer Jones he could push the job into spring training. The Yankees are also trying to re-sign Cody Bellinger. If they succeed, that will further crowd out the outfield and the primary charts.
All clubs make random additions like this to add depth, however, as twists and turns are inevitable during a long season. Stanton is 36 years old and hasn’t been off the injured list for a full season since 2018. The judge is about to turn 34 years old and will get time in the DH position itself. Domínguez hasn’t really established himself as a big leaguer and still has options. Rice could end up behind the plate if the catcher gets hurt. Jones hit 35 homers last year but also struck out 35.4% of his plate appearances. A disagreement with Bellinger could lead to him signing elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images
