NEW YORK – Outfielder Jay Bruce accepted a minor league contract with the New York Yankees on Saturday and will try to win a place in the spring training sessions in the major league.
The 33-year-old has the chance to beat left-handed in a mainly right-wing formation. The Yankees field features ambidextrous center fielder Aaron Hicks and right-handed right fielder Aaron Judge.
Clint Frazier, another right-hander, is the main candidate for the left field, with Michael Tauchman and Tyler Wade, both left-handed hitters, also competitors, but more likely to spend time as backups.
Brett Gardner has become a free agent and talks to the Yankees, but the team and the 37-year-old left-handed striker have been separated by money. Gardner joined the Yankees in 2008 and is the longest-serving player on the roster.
Bruce hit .198 with six home runs and 14 RBIs for Philadelphia in 96 bats during the short-lived pandemic season. He is a three-time All-Star with an average of .245, 318 home runs and 948 RBIs over 13 Major League seasons with the Reds (2008-15), Mets (2016-18), Indians (2018), Mariners (2019).) And Phillies.