Outfielder Chris Young (not to be confused with the right-handed pitcher of the same name) has changed agencies and is once again a client of CAA Sports, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
By adding Young to their ranks, CAA will pick up a free-agent-to-be that is presently in the midst of a strong comeback season in the Bronx. Young was a flop with the Mets in 2014 after signing a one-year, $7.25MM free agent contract, but he signed a minor league deal with the Yankees after being released and re-signed with the Bombers this past offseason.
The Yankees deserve some praise for their faith in Young, as he’s rewarded their confidence with a combined .254/.320/.467 batting line in 406 plate appearances between the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Young, of course, has been heavily platooned, as his deficiencies versus right-handed pitching are well documented. He’s been forced into action against right-handed pitching more than the Yankees would like in 2015, receiving 185 total PAs and slashing just .185/.241/.346. Clearly, he still possesses a bit of pop versus righties (.161 ISO), but the bulk of his damage has come versus lefties. Young has tattooed opposing southpaws, batting .323/.393/.586 in 151 plate appearances this year.
Defensively speaking, the 32-year-old Young may no longer be equipped to handle center field with any sort of regularity, but he’s capable of playing there in a pinch at the very least and can still handle a corner spot. He’s swiped three bases this season and received positive grades for his baserunning, per Fangraphs, giving him additional value.
All told, Young won’t necessarily be the most exciting free agent, but he has plenty of desirable traits and shouldn’t come with a prohibitive price tag this offseason — the most lucrative deals for fourth outfielders in recent years have been the respective $10MM and $10.75MM two-year deals for Rajai Davis and Nate McLouth — so interest should be fairly widespread. He’ll add to an already sizable crop of free agents for his new representatives, as CAA also has Mark Buehrle, David Freese, Denard Span and Matt Belisle, among others, set to hit the open market this offseason.
Young’s change in representation will be reflected in the MLBTR Agency Database, which has information on more than 2,000 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any notable inaccuracies or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
I think his power will help him top David and McLouth, but not by much.