Yankees Sign Young

The New York Yankees today announced they have signed outfielder Chris Young to a one-year Major League contract for the 2015 season.

Young, 31, hit .282 (20-for-71) with 9R, 8 doubles, 3HR and 10RBI in 23 games (16 starts in LF and one in RF) with the Yankees in 2014. He was signed by the club as a minor league free agent on August 27 and was selected to the Major League roster on September 2. Prior to joining the Yankees, he was designated for assignment by the New York Mets on August 9 and released on August 15. Overall at the Major League Level in 2014, Young batted .222 (72-for-325) with 40 runs, 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 38 RBI, 32 walks and eight stolen bases in 111 games.

On September 11, 2014, the Houston, Tex., native hit a three-run "walk-off" home run in just his sixth game as a Yankee, providing the margin of victory in a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. It was the second home run in a career-high-tying stretch of three straight games with home runs from September 10−12. Immediately following that stretch, Young scored the game-winning run with a steal of home in the second inning of the Yankees' 3-2 victory on September 13 at Baltimore.

The right-handed-hitting Young owns a .234 (897-for-3,833) career batting average with 539 runs, 236 doubles, 155 home runs, 486 RBI, 428 walks and 130 stolen bases in 1,103 games over nine Major League seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2006−12), Oakland A's (2013), Mets (2014) and Yankees (2014). He was a National League All-Star in 2010, and has reached double figures in home runs in each of the last eight years, including four seasons of at least 20 home runs (2007−32HR, 2008−22HR, 2010−27HR and 2011−20HR).

Originally selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft out of Bellaire High School, Young has played all three outfield positions during the course of his career, totaling just 27 errors in 2,546 career chances. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his .990 career fielding percentage as an outfielder is 10th among active Major Leaguers with at least 1,000 career games played at the position.

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