Yankees sign outfield speedster Quintin Berry to minor league deal

Prior to the Yankees dropping a 6-2 contest to the White Sox on Monday night, they inked fleet of foot veteran outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor league deal.

Cue the ‘Back to the Future’ reference: Marty McFly is on stage at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Marty begins playing an “oldie where he comes from.” Out from the whaling guitar comes the iconic sound of “Johnny B. Goode.” This causes Marvin Berry to pick up the phone to call his cousin Chuck, to tell him about that new sound he’s been looking for. It turns out the Yankees found their own Berry on Monday, signing 33-year-old Qunitin to a minor league deal.

Berry, who’s played parts of five big league seasons for five different major league clubs was part of the 2013 World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Released five days ago by the Brewers, Berry spent all but one game this season at Triple-A Colorado Springs where he hit .214/.290/.321 with 14 runs scored, two home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts.

A career minor leaguer, Berry’s most significant amount of major league experience came as a 27-year-old rookie with the Tigers in 2012. In 94 games (291 at-bats), Berry slashed .258/.330/.354 with 44 runs scored, 10 doubles, two homers, 29 RBIs and was a perfect 21-for-21 in stolen bases.

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For his major league career, Berry has successfully swiped 29-of-31 bags, with the last 25 coming consecutively. Over 13 seasons in the minor leagues, the San Diego-native has accumulated a robust 399 stolen bases in 496 tries.

Clearly, the Yankees inked the man to wreak havoc on the basepaths, predominately as a pinch-runner late in games.

According to Mike Axisa, because Berry was signed before Sept. 31, he will be eligible for Postseason play even if he isn’t promoted by Sept. 1.

"Jacoby Ellsbury’s injury gives the Yankees a position player exemption for the postseason roster. If the Yankees carry Berry on their postseason roster, he would, technically, be Ellsbury’s injury replacement."

Arguably, the Yankees could use Tyler Wade in the same role — considering he plays a multitude of positions, Wade would make sense on a playoff roster.

However, Berry is a proven base stealing threat that is also a career .262 left-handed hitter. Aside from his Postseason experience with the Sox in 2013, Berry also went to the World Series with the Tigers in 2012.

Immediately assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Berry scored a run for the RailRiders in their 9-6 win on Monday night vs. Lehigh Valley.