Former Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Signs With New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have signed a former fan favorite of the Baltimore Orioles.

Aug 12, 2022; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Brett Phillips (66) is recognized by the Tampa Bay Rays after the second inning. Phillips was recently traded from the Tampa Bay Rays where he was a fan favorite to the Baltimore Orioles. / Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

With all of the moves around baseball the past few days, the New York Yankees decided to do something different. According to Francys Romero, the Yankees have signed former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Brett Phillips.

Phillips, who played the outfield for all of his career, was actually signed as a relief pitcher. He'll be assigned to the minor leagues as New York looks to see if there's anything there with the right-hander.

He appeared in a semi-pro league game on Monday night and showed off an upper 90s fastball, throwing 95-97 MPH, according to multiple reports.

His time with the Orioles was short, as he played in just eight games. In his 17 at-bats, he slashed .118/.118/.235 with two doubles. The Florida native was always an above-average defensive outfielder but struggled at the plate.

Phillips has a career slash line of .187/.272/.347 with just 31 home runs in 971 plate appearances. If he can prove to the Yankees or another team that he can be an above-average relief pitcher, he might have a chance to stick.

It's rare to see things like this happen, but the 30-year-old looked great in his semi-pro outing. While that's much different from Major League Baseball, a 97 MPH fastball can often play at any level, depending on how his command and secondary stuff look.

Who knows, maybe one day, he'll return to Baltimore as a reliever. He's a fan favorite everywhere he goes and is well-respected around the league by his peers, so anything is possible if he pitches well.