The New York Yankees signed free-agent outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero to a major-league contract, the club announced Thursday.
The split deal will pay Cordero a salary of $1 million if he's in the major leagues and $180,000 if he's in Triple-A, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. The Yankees added Cordero to the major-league roster Thursday ahead of their season-opening game against the San Francisco Giants.
The 28-year-old, who spent the last two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, was in camp with the Baltimore Orioles on a minor-league deal this spring. Cordero impressed in Grapefruit League play, hitting .413/.426/.674 with two homers and nine RBIs over 47 plate appearances. However, he opted out of his deal with Baltimore on Monday after he failed to crack the team's roster.
In New York, he will serve as a left-handed hitting bench option for manager Aaron Boone. Cordero offers the Yankees some additional versatility, as he's played all three outfield positions in the majors plus another 64 games at first base.
The native of Azua, Dominican Republic, grabbed the Yankees' final bench spot over outfielders Willie Calhoun and Rafael Ortega. Calhoun was reassigned to minor-league camp on Wednesday and will begin his season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; Ortega, meanwhile, was granted his release.
Cordero is a lifetime .221/.290/.386 hitter with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases across parts of six big-league seasons with the Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and Kansas City Royals. He posted a .697 OPS with eight homers in 84 games for Boston last year.
