The New York Yankees have been seeking a lefthanded-hitting DH for... well, pretty much the entire winter.
Raul Ibanez Signs With Yankees, According To Report
The former Phillies and Mariners outfielder will be designated-hitting in New York in 2012.
After trading Jesus Montero to the Mariners, they retained Andruw Jones for the righthanded-hitting portion of that platoon. They had talks with former Yankees Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, but Monday morning, they signed someone else. Buster Olney tweets:
Yankees have an agreement with Raul Ibanez, pending a physical.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 20, 2012
Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 with 31 doubles and 20 HR for the Phillies in 2011, which gave him an OPS+ of 91. That's below average, but Ibanez likely won't have to play outfield any more (except in emergencies); he can just focus on hitting against righthanded pitchers. His numbers vs. RHP last year were somewhat better than his overall numbers (.256/.307/.440).
No contract details were revealed in Olney's tweet, but presumably, some of the money the Yankees saved in the A.J. Burnett deal will be heading Ibanez's way. This is a short-term fix for the Bronx Bombers; one of the things it accomplishes is making them an older team.
Maybe it’ll work. Maybe it won’t. We’ll see soon.
UPDATE: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the contract will be worth $1.1 million.
FURTHER UPDATE: Olney tweets that with incentives, Ibanez could earn up to $4 million.
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