The Yankees have signed 30-year-old infielder Rougned Odor to a minor-league contract, per a report from Jon Heyman. The veteran will be able to opt out of the deal after July 1st if he’s not called up by then.
Odor has played in 1,154 games across 10 seasons, mostly at second base. He was called up by the Texas Rangers in 2014 as a 20-year-old rookie and quickly earned a starting job. Odor displayed uncommon power for a middle infielder, reaching 30 home runs three times in his seven years with Texas, earning a $49.5 million extension in the process. Odor struggled to get on base consistently, though, and after slashing .167/.209/.413 in 148 plate appearances in 2020, the Rangers designated him for assignment at the end of 2021 spring training, and traded him to the Yankees a week later.
Odor’s contagious charisma and, at least initially, aptitude for clutch plays made him something of a fan favorite during his season in pinstripes as a role player, as Erica Block noted in 2021.
However, Odor’s time with New York was generally seen as having had little effect because of his.202/.286/.379 slash line and terrible second and third base defense, which resulted in a performance that was about replacement level.
After that, Odor lived for a year in Baltimore, where he was well-liked in the clubhouse, before moving to San Diego for the previous season. In July of that year, he was again assigned. This offseason, Odor inked a free agency contract with the NPB’s Yomiuri Giants in Japan. Nevertheless, he was not included on their Opening Day roster and requested to be released from his contract in order to travel back to the United States. The Giants granted this request in late March.
Odor will cover at second and third base in light of the losses to Oswald Peraza and DJ LeMahieu. This is especially useful if other ailments whittle away at the Yankees’ shallow infield depth at Triple-A (poor Jorbit Vivas). Odor has been remarkably consistent over the past few years, so if he returns to the major league squad, expect him to play below-average defense at second or third and run into a few home runs but not much more with the bat.
