Marcus Thames has been hired as the hitting coach for the Yankees' high A-ball affiliate in Tampa, the club announced via its Twitter feed, effectively ending the outfielder's ten-year Major League career. Thames last appeared in the majors in 2011, posting a .576 OPS in 70 plate appearances for the Dodgers. According to Baseball Reference, the 35-year-old Thames made a little over $6.2MM in his career.
Thames was originally drafted by the Yankees in the 30th round of the 1996 amateur draft and had two separate stints in New York, also playing for the Dodgers, Rangers and Tigers, where he spent six seasons. Thames didn't offer much in the way of batting average or on-base skills but he possessed strong power from the right side of the plate, hitting .246/.309/.485 with 115 homers in 2016 career plate appearances. His best single season came in 2006 when he posted an .882 OPS in 390 PA and helped the Tigers reach the World Series.
