It's a Wrap - Yankees Sign Reynolds

The ball is ticketed for the catcher's mitt or the left field fence.

According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman the Yankees have signed the all or nothing Mark Reynolds to share first base with Lyle Overbay, fill in some for Alex Rodriguez at third base (Reynolds is an awful third baseman), do some DH'ing, hit some home runs and strike out a lot.¹

Reynolds burst on to the scene in 2008 with the Arizona Diamondbacks when he hit 28 home runs and struck out 204 times. He topped both the totals the following season when he banged out 44 home runs and struck out a ridiculous 223 times.

More of the same followed after he was dealt to Baltimore prior to the 2011 season. Reynold's OPS made up for his strikeout totals during the 2007-2012 stretch, but he went downhill this season with the Cleveland Indians.

A .215/.307/.373 slash line meant Reynolds was not going to finish out the one year free agent contract he signed with the Tribe this past off-season. He was even worse since the beginning of June, posting a paltry .484 OPS. The Yankees hope that he can help against left-handers, since the right-handed hitter had a .745 OPS against them.

Yes, this is the move of a desperate Brian Cashman, just as most of the Yankees moves have been this year.

No corresponding 25- or 40-man roster move has been made yet though it's likely that either Luis Cruiz (sprained right knee), Travis Hafner (strained right rotator cuff), or Zoilo Almonte (sprained left ankle) could be moved from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list.

A bigger question is where does Reynolds fit on the 25-man roster. Jayson Nix is a hard nosed, scrappy player, but his .591 OPS makes him expendable. Otherwise the Yankees would have to reduce their pitching staff from 13 to 12, probably at the expense of Preston Claiborne or David Huff, who was just recalled earlier on Thursday.





1 - CBSSports.com