The New York Yankees have signed Cuban utility player Adonis Garcia. According to Marc Craig of The Star Ledger, New York inked the 26-year-old to a one-year minor league contract with $400,000. The Yankees view Garcia as an outfielder.
Garcia made news headlines early in March when it was reported that the Yankees and A’s had multi-million dollar offers on the table for the utility player. The Yankees and A’s quickly shot down these reports, and many disbelieved the rumors from the beginning as Garcia didn’t seem to be a player warranting such an offer.
While teams were certainly interested in the Cuban defector, there was debate over which position best suited Garcia. While in Cuba, Garcia played all over the infield as well as in left field. While the A’s viewed Garcia as an infielder, the Yankees believe his best position is as an outfielder.
The issue becomes what Garcia can do at the plate and his age. Ben Badler reported that Garcia has surprising power for his size. Still, at 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, Garcia is not your prototypical corner outfielder.
It looks like the debate over Garcia’s primary position coupled with the fact that he’s 26 years old drove down his market to the point where he had to settle for a minor league deal totaling less than a million dollars.
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