Yankees Sign Veteran Infielder to Minor League Deal

New York signed Wilmer Difo to a minor league contract on Friday.

Max Goodman | Dec 23, 2022

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New York Yankees

The Yankees have signed free agent Wilmer Difo to a minor league deal, adding to their depth in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report Difo's deal with New York.

Difo, 30, played in only three games in 2022, spending the year in the Diamondbacks organization. In 2021, he slashed .269/.329/.384 with four home runs and 25 runs scored across 116 games with the Pirates, one of the best seasons of his eight-year MLB career. He began his career with six seasons in a Washington Nationals uniform.

The contract is a split deal that will pay him $1.2 million if he's promoted to the big leagues, according to Murray.

In order for Difo to be considered for an opportunity in pinstripes, the Yankees would need to be battling a heavy dose of adversity. New York already has a logjam of infielders, with prospects Oswald Peraza, Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera positioning themselves to earn playing time in the Bronx during a spring training competition. Unless the Yankees make some sort of trade, New York is choosing from DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, those prospects and more up the middle.

Difo is versatile and while he has played second base primarily at the big-league level, he also has experience at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. Think of Difo as the new Tyler Wade, a minor league option that can play multiple positions. In this case, he's a switch-hitter with just a little pop (19 home runs and 103 RBI over 492 career games). Marwin Gonzalez occupied a similar role with the Yankees last year—he entered free agency this offseason.

If Difo isn't loving his experience with the Yankees organization, he can opt out of his deal on July 1, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

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Published Dec 23, 2022

MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.