Yankees swipe potential utility option from rival Astros after preseason DFA

The New York Yankees' desperate search for righty bats has continued into the regular season - yes, despite Oswald Peraza's pinch-hit home run during their 20-9 drubbing of the Milwaukee Brewers. Shocking, I know.

Leaving no stone unturned, the Yankees made some roster progress on Friday, agreeing to a minor-league deal with Cooper Hummel, formerly of the Houston Astros. His MLB stint was underwhelming, to say the least, in 2024, but what he lacks in impactful big-league at-bats, he makes up for in batting right-handed.

Hummel was outrighted off Houston's roster officially on Thursday following a DFA before the start of the regular season, and agreed to a pact with the Yankees that pays him $820,000 if he makes the MLB roster (and they decide they prefer him to Peraza, Pablo Reyes, or both).

Hummel has logged time in left field, as well as at catcher and first base, in recent seasons.

Yankees add Cooper Hummel on minor-league deal after Houston Astros DFA

Mark Canha, who the Yankees purportedly attempted to trade for prior to the start of the season, represented a sturdier veteran presence than Hummel. Now that the season has begun, though, the slim pickins from late March have grown even slimmer. Canha is a Royal now, and the on-base machine is 2-for-6 to start his KC career.

Hummel, a name you might have to learn sooner rather than later, went 0-fer last season in a brief cameo with the 'Stros, stealing a bag in eight at-bats and striking out twice. He saw his most substantial MLB time in 2022 with the Diamondbacks, hitting .176 in 66 games.

In the minors, though, he's been prolific at every level, never posting an OPS below .800 in any full season since 2017. Last year, he slugged .454 with an .873 OPS in 101 games with Triple-A Sugar Land, mashing 10 home runs and 26 doubles while swiping 15 bags.

At the very worst, he represents additional depth in Scranton, alongside Brennen Davis and Everson Pereira. At the very worst, he has to fill in at catcher and heaves the ball into center field as Oswald Peraza, since traded in this nightmare scenario, scampers home for the winning run.

The former is far more likely than the latter.