Yankees get outfielder billy mckinney to a minor league deal, according to MiLB.com’s official deal page. McKinney was assigned to his Triple-A affiliate on the team.
McKinney was originally acquired as part of a four-play package sent from the Cubs to the Yankees, so it is McKinney’s second stint with the organization. Aroldis Chapman Before the 2016 trading deadline. New York then moved McKinney almost exactly two years later as part of another fixed-term contract.with McKinney Brandon Drury Traded to the Blue Jays in 2018 JA Hap.
Those moves are just two entries in a journeyman’s career for McKinney, but the 24th pick in the previous overall is still 28 years old. McKinney has played in the majors in his league for the past five seasons, and at the MLB level he has appeared in 263 games for six different teams. In only two of those games he was Yankee pinstripes. It was also the first two games of McKinney’s major league career.
Once considered a potential Top 100 prospect and future center fielder, McKinney has settled into roles primarily as a corner outfielder and part-time first baseman. 206/.277/.387 slash lines and 28 home runs in the majors, and has 768 at-bat appearances in the majors, a home run total that is at least as high as McKinney did early in his career and in the minors. It suggests the possibility of a higher power. Constant shutouts between teams and rises and falls from the minors certainly didn’t help McKinney find his rhythm at the plate, but since the start of the 2021 season, he’s . 177/. It only hits 261/.328. 331 OPS over his 57 PA last season with the Athletics.
But McKinney also has a .271/.348/.511 slash line and 42 home runs over a career PA of 992 at triple-A level. Clearly, McKinney has an age and experience advantage over his Triple-A pitching, and many of his biggest numbers came from his home-run-heavy 2019 minor league season and his hitter-friendly 2021 season. It was the Pacific Coast of the year in his league. Spring training is meant to see if McKinney is a potential late bloomer, and could help add outfield depth if he takes a break from camping with the team (McKinney is out of minor league options).
