Yankees Sign Brennan Boesch

The Yankees have signed Brennan Boesch to a major league deal, worth $1.5 million with $600,000 worth of incentives based on plate appearances.

Being a Major League contract means the team will have to make a 40-man roster move, but that isn't a problem. Michael Pineda and Cesar Cabral are currently on the 40-man, and either player can be moved to the 60-day DL to free up a spot. Boesch also has at least one option remaining, meaning he can be sent to AAA without having to clear waivers first.

If this were a minor league deal I wouldn't think anything of it. Just another case of "throwing it at the wall to see what sticks." Being a ML deal tells me that he'll start the season with the Yankees, either taking over for Granderson full-time (albeit it in LF or RF, as Boesch has never played center field in MLB), or platooning with another outfielder. But once Granderson returns, then the team could demote Brennan to AAA.

Whether it was in right field or left field, Brennan is not a good defender. His career UZR/150 in the OF is -10.7. His arm isn't very good either, so Gardner and Suzuki will have their work cut out for them to make up for his fielding issues.

It would be great if Boesch could replicate his 2011 season, in which he hit.283/.341/.458 with 16 home runs, but I can't help but look at his 2012 (.240/.286/.372 with 12 HR) and be pessimistic. After all, Boesch is a hacker.

In all I'm not worked up about this signing either way. It would be different if the team had somebody I really wanted to play everyday in Granderson's absence, but that's not the case. So I'm willing to sit back and see what develops.