NEW YORK (AP) - Logan Morrison agreed to a minor league contract Friday with the New York Yankees, who sought another first base option with Greg Bird again on the injured list.
If added to the 40-man roster, Morrison would get a one-year contract with a $1 million salary while in the major leagues.
Morrison told the Tampa Bay Times in July 2017 that Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez did not deserve to be in the All-Star Home Run Derby after missing 21 games between April 8 and May 5 because of a strained right biceps.
“It’s par for the course. I play for the Rays. I get it,” Morrison told the newspaper then. “They can’t even get my picture right. When they put my name up there they put Corey (Dickerson’s) picture up there … on MLB Network. When they put up the home run leaders they put Corey’s swing on there not mine.”
In April 2018 before playing at Yankee Stadium with the Minnesota Twins, Morrison was quoted criticizing Yankees fans.
“They didn’t like the Gary Sánchez thing with the Home Run Derby,” Morrison told the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “but you can’t fix stupid, you know?”
Sánchez was asked Friday about Morrison’s comments.
“That’s a long time ago and we’re way over that stuff,” Sánchez said through a translator. “Now he’s a teammate and we’re going to treat him as a teammate. We’re going to welcome him here in this clubhouse. There’s no sense talking (about) something that happened so long ago.”
Morrison hit .186 with 15 homers and 39 RBIs in 318 at-bats last year during his only season with Minnesota. He set career bests with 38 homers and 85 RBIs for the Rays in 2017, then signed a deal with the Twins that called for a $5.5 million salary last year. Minnesota declined an $8 million option for 2019 and paid a $1 million buyout.
A nine-year major league veteran, the 31-year-old has a .239 career average with 137 homers and 421 RBIs.
“Obviously, just some depth right now and a guy that has a proven big league track record,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So I think it’s good for us to get somebody, if we have a situation, that’s capable of doing some damage if he got up here.”
A left-handed hitter, Morrison could complement right-handed-hitting Luke Voit. Bird went on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a left plantar fascia tear, and Boone said he expects Bird will miss at least a month.
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