The New York Yankees and utilityman Amed Rosario are in agreement on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, sources told ESPN on Saturday, reuniting the two sides after a brief and fruitful stint last season.
Rosario’s deal includes another $250,000 in possible incentives, according to a source. The Yankees brought the veteran back for the same reason they initially acquired him from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline in July: To give them more versatility with another right-handed batter.
The 30-year-old Rosario, a former top prospect and a subpar defender, excels in one category after nine major-league seasons: Hitting left-handed pitching. Last season, he batted .302 with four home runs and an .819 OPS in 122 plate appearances against lefties. Overall with the Yankees, he batted .303 with a .788 OPS in 16 games before going 3-for-10 in four postseason games.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman this offseason has classified the Yankees being so left-handed as a problem he hoped to solve. Rosario is one piece in that effort.
“I definitely want to give Aaron Boone some legitimate choices so he can match up,” Cashman said at the Winter Meetings this week. “It’s a vulnerability right now and not a lot of right-handed bats in the game are accessible.”
Rosario figures to platoon at third base with the left-handed-hitting Ryan McMahon — his primary role with the Yankees last season — but he also played second base and outfield for New York down the stretch. Off the field, the upbeat Rosario supplied a jolt of energy to the dugout and clubhouse welcomed by teammates and coaches after joining the Yankees in a trade that sent right-hander Clayton Beeter and outfielder Brown Martinez to the Nationals.
New York was interested in signing Rosario the last two offseasons as a bench player, but he joined the Tampa Bay Rays and Nationals on one-year contracts in a starting role. This time, the Yankees landed their target.
