The New York Yankees have signed outfielder Chris Young to a minor-league deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The outfielder had been designated for assignment by the New York Mets on August 8th to make room on the 25-man roster for Matt den Dekker and was given his release a week later on August 15th. Young will report to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a few days before (likely) getting called up when rosters expand on September 1st.
Young, who turns 31-years-old next week, has played in 88 games this season, hitting .205/.283/.346 with eight home runs and 28 runs batted in, before being released by the Mets. During the offseason, Young had signed a one-year, $7.25 million deal, which he is still guaranteed that money. Once he makes the major-league roster, the Yankees will have to pay him a prorated portion of the major-league minimum salary.
Once called up to the big-league team, Young will prove to be a valuable defensive backup to outfielders Ichiro Suzuki, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Martin Prado. Young is a career .205/.283/.346 hitter with 152 home runs and 476 runs batted in in nine seasons in the major-leagues. In 2010, Young hit .257/.341/.452 with 27 home runs and 91 runs batted in in 156 games, a year in which he was also named to the National League All-Star team.