The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with infielder Jace Peterson, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 27-year-old will receive an invitation to MLB camp this spring and can earn at a $900K rate in the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
Peterson, 27, figures to have a chance at earning a role in the Yankees’ infield rotation, which remains in flux after the organization dealt away veterans Chase Headley and Starlin Castro earlier this winter. It’s still possible that the organization will add some significant pieces, but Peterson could contend for a reserve position regardless.
The Braves could have retained Peterson via arbitration at a projected rate of just $1.1MM. But Atlanta decided it was time to move on after a year in which he slashed just .215/.318/.317 over 215 plate appearances.
If things work out, the Yanks could yet control Peterson for two or more seasons through the arb process. Peterson has just 3.003 years of service, so if he spends a bit of time in the minors to open the year, it’s possible he’d still have three years of control ahead of him.
It’s worth remembering that Peterson was not long ago considered a quality prospect. And he did turn in a .254/.350/.366 output, with 52 walks against 69 strikeouts, over 408 plate appearances in 2016. Peterson has also shown wide platoon splits; while that doesn’t bode well for his potential to one day turn into a regular, it does suggest that he could be more useful to an organization that is able to pair him with other players.
Jubilee3333
Start spreading the news
acarneglia
I’m leaving today!
mlb1225
I want to be a part of it!
bravesandcrewfan
Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania!
acarneglia
Your vagabond shoes, they are longing to stray
b24brando 2
Lol
costergaard2
I love you guys = )
card collector18
Wake up the market !!!
DisplacedSTLfan
In other news…a cat snuck on the field during reseeding Fenway and concession stand workers at Wrigley Field will be wearing new uniforms this year.
HeyBroItsBrad
This is a good ST invite deal.
dirtbagfreitas
You feel that stove heating up fellas!?!?!
Cardinals17
Ha! Good one!
timm-2
#MakeAmericaWarmAgain
camdenyards46
Scott Alexander and Jace Peterson in two days?!
camdenyards46
But good pickup for the yanks. Low risk depth for a depleted infield.
soc4yankees
I like this, worth the small gamble.
pinballwizard1969
Depth and insurance. No big deal.
justin-turner overdrive
This guy is not good, if he sees any serious PT at the MLB level then the Yankees have severely downgraded from Castro and Headley. His defense is dreadful and he only had a good OBP once. Career bWAR: -0.6 in 383 games. This is only a minors depth move though.
dirtydan
Can you do any better?
T_Rexx2
He is Justin turner, after all.
Houston We Have A Solution
Hes not played to play baseball. Jace Peterson is. He will be cut before st ends or dfa at some point this year.
his defense doesnt outweigh his bad bat.
SundownDevil
Jeffrey, what’s the latest on Sano? Will be miss part of the year due to suspension? What are the latest trade rumors on the Twins dumping him? Thanks!
metsmosloyal23
I doubt the Twins would be dumb enough to deal Sano especially at this value. You notice only player rushing to verify the “story” was Trevor Plouffe? Miguel Sano took Plouff’s job plain and simple.
hiflew
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think he would have to just spend time in the minors at the beginning of the year in order to get an extra year of control. Unless he is out of options, he could be optioned at any time during the season.
Michael Chaney
That goes without saying. But it’s meant to imply that he could serve as depth for them without breaking camp on the roster, and that they could keep him without having to immediately add him to the 40-man roster.
casualatlfan
He is indeed out of options, as this past year was his final option year.
floridapinstripes
Another future HOF Braves prospect.
Talk about a flipping the script. Braves always take Yankees prospects.
southi
He didn’t even have rookie eligibility when he was traded TO the Braves. He spent too much time on the 25 man roster for the Padres his rookie season.
Jace certainly isn’t great, but he does have defensive flexibility and could be a decent minors depth move.
slider32
Maybe now Cashman feels he can put Estrada in a deal to get a starting pitcher. Frazier and Estrada to the Braves for one of their top pitching prospects Fried, Allard, Anderson, Wright, or Soroka.
kenneth cole
Looks like Stanton is on the move
Pingleja
They’ll probably pick up Mark Mulder on the wire tomorrow and turn him into a Cy Young Candidate. Cashman for President
walls17
This is a Brian Cashman signing if I’ve ever seen one. He always gets one of these middle infielders on a minor league deal every offseason it seems
BSPORT
It is more of a Cashman signing as he loves grabbing past top prospects that didn’t work out and try to fix. Doubt he will see the Bronx.
walls17
nah this is like when he signed ruben tejada a couple years ago. like tejada, he probably wont see time with the big club, but will come to ST and probably play well, just to ultimately not make the team but help in AAA Scranton
tomahawkin2010
None of the above mentioned Braves prospects will be likely going anywhere, unless it will net a impactful, everyday player for their lineup or rotation. One or two of those pitchers may be part of a package deal to acquire Yelich and/or Realmuto.
Yankeepatriot
Cashman is Goat. He totally fleeced other gm’s by stealing him !
Begamin
A good signing. He probably wont see much MLB time but its still good to add depth. He is still relatively young which could mean he still has room for improvement. Its also a plus that he plays multiple positions.
Solaris601
Every owner should just send their front office home for the rest of the month. Looking pretty obvious there won’t be another significant move made until February.
yanks02026
Who needs Manny Machado when you have JACE PETERSON
Begamin
If this was Rob Refsynder you were talkinng about then id agree with you.
dynamite drop in monty
These crepes are delicious.
dirtbagfreitas
I had ribs for lunch
chrisbluediamond
Cashman The Goat
Yankeepatriot
Joc will have a w.a.r of 5 this season
bronxbombers
You forgot the minus sign
bosoxforlife
Except this is Jace.
dust44
He’s a good low risk depth signing. No1 knows how the kids r going to perform. Right now the Yanks r counting on Torres, Andujar, Wade, Torreyes, and Estrada. That’s young kids thrown onto a team that was 1 win from the World Series. Cash knows what he’s doing. Signing a guy who had performed in the bigs decent enough to hold a spot until the kids r ready.
RealHalSteinbrenner
Cashman thought he was signing Joc Pederson
xkeiserx24
Disappointing, this move is just to delay gleybers service clock.
Begamin
so another full year of control is disappointing to you?
xkeiserx24
Stuff like this is going to start tearing apart the union. It’s shady
RealHalSteinbrenner
All this means is a backup in case either Torreyes, Wade or Estrada get hurt. GT will spend the first 12 games in AAA, so the Yankees can get another year of service time, then called up. This guy might as well be named “Pete Kozma”
pepesilvia
What a joke I hope we aren’t giving up on Machado. This guy isn’t Yankee material he must have a relative in the front office to get signed here.
R.D.
I know this seems very specific, but as a Braves fan there’s one stat I love about Jace. His .950 career OPS with the bases loaded. He’s a clutch hitter and he sat on the bench a lot this past season. Competing teams need a super utility player that comes through in the clutch, I’m sad to see him go.
hotdoug5638
Some times you can polish a turd and get a diamond.
Michael Birks
Or it’s just a diamond shaped turd