The New York Yankees signed veteran outfielder Cooper Hummel to a minor league contract in early April.
Less than two months later, after Hummel didn’t receive an opportunity at the major league level, the 30-year-old triggered the release clause in his contract.
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On Saturday, the Yankees granted Hummel his release rather than adding him to the major league roster, allowing him to head to free agency. On Sunday, he wasted no time finding his next home, signing a major league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
Hummel’s deal is for $765,000, per KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander. The Orioles designated infielder Terrin Vavra to make room for Hummel.
Hummel has appeared in parts of three seasons at the major league level with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros.
The right-handed hitter was initially drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. However, he wouldn’t debut with Milwaukee, as he was traded to the Diamondbacks ahead of the 2021 trade deadine.
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Hummel debuted with Arizona in 2022. He ended up appearing in 66 games that season, slashing .176/.274/.307 with three home runs, 17 runs batted in, 14 extra-base hits and an OPS of .580.
After the 2022 season, the Diamondbacks traded Hummel to the Mariners. He would only appear in 10 games with Seattle in 2023, going 2-for-23 (.087) with nine strikeouts and an OPS of .323.
Hummel then bounced around a couple organizations before getting his next MLB opportunity with the Astros in 2024. He went 0-for-8 across six games with Houston.
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While Hummel hasn’t shown much success at the MLB level, the Yankees gave him an opportunity in the minor leagues this year. Across 10 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he went 9-for-31 (.258) while drawing nine walks to eight strikeouts.
Hummel has had success at Triple-A in his career. Across 340 games, he’s slashing .284/.419/.475 with 36 home runs, 179 RBIs and an OPS of .894.
The Orioles, who entered Sunday in last place in the AL East at 17-34, will look for Hummel to provide a spark. Orioles hitters entered Sunday with a combined OPS of .687, which ranked 23rd in MLB.
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