Yankees improve depth with Cordero deal

March 30th, 2023

The Yankees on Thursday shored up their Opening Day roster by signing outfielder Franchy Cordero to a Major League contract and adding him to the active roster.

A source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand that Cordero’s contract is a split deal that will pay him $1 million in the Major Leagues and $180,000 in the Minor Leagues.

Cordero, who spent Spring Training with the Orioles before being granted his release from the club on Monday, spent last season with the Red Sox, where he slashed .219/.300/.397 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 84 games.

Prior to joining Boston in 2021, Cordero spent three years with the Padres (where he hit .240 with 10 home runs in 79 games) before joining the Royals for the 2020 season. He was slashing .413/.426/.674 with two home runs, four doubles and a triple in Spring Training prior to leaving the Orioles.

While Cordero has struggled with strikeouts throughout his career (he has a career strikeout rate of 34.8 percent), he was in the 99th percentile in exit velocity last season, and has four career home runs of 450+ feet.