TAMPA, Fla. -- Adam Lind and the Yankees have agreed to a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to big league camp, the club announced on Friday.
Lind, 34, batted .303/.362/.513 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs in 116 games for the Nationals last season. General manager Brian Cashman said that Lind will be considered as a depth option behind starting first baseman Greg Bird.
"It's a great opportunity," Lind said. "I know we had talked to them a couple of times over the past couple of years. I think it was the right situation for myself this year."
The Yankees scouted Lind during his brief stay at the IMG Academy free-agent camp in Bradenton, Fla., where Lind said that he suited up for about eight days before tiring of the drive from his home, which is north of Tampa.
"I know guys were champing at the bit to try to get out of there and get jobs," Lind said. "The way the winter worked out, I'm just happy to have a job."
Cashman said that Lind will be able to opt out of his contract at the end of Spring Training. Christopher Austin and Billy McKinney had been listed as the Yankees' depth options in the event of an injury to Bird.
"It's an insurance policy," Cashman said. "He'll come in and be in the mix. We'll see what he's got. He'll obviously have a chance to prove that he's got some value elsewhere, but clearly there's insurance in the event that injuries occur, which thankfully haven't."
A 12-year big league veteran, Lind is a career .272/.330/.465 hitter with 200 home runs and 723 RBIs in 1,344 games. Lind appeared in his first postseason in 2017 with Washington, picking up two hits in three at-bats.
"We know what he's capable of," Cashman said. "We saw him all of last year and previous years. We know obviously he's a very productive hitter."