While the Yankees wait to learn Alex Rodriguez’s fate and whether they can lure Masahiro Tanaka to The Bronx, they designated Vernon Wells for assignment Friday after a disappointing season.
Wells was acquired from the Angels near the end of spring training a year ago and after a terrific start, saw his production drop off a cliff.
The 35-year-old had 11 homers and drove in 50 runs in 2013, but over his last 92 games, he hit just one homer and drove in 27 runs with an OPS of .495. And with the offseason addition of free agent outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, Wells was even more expendable.
Wells confirmed the news on Twitter:
The move allowed the Yankees to add Matt Thornton to the 40-man roster. The lefty reliever’s signing became official Friday. The 37-year-old received a two-year deal worth $7 million and will replace Boone Logan in the bullpen after Logan left for Colorado.
With Wells gone, the Yankees outfield now consists of Ellsbury, Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki.
Ichiro has been on the block throughout the offseason, but his $6 million salary and declining production have made it difficult for the Yankees to find a trading partner. Though team brass has said it likes the idea of having Ellsbury and Gardner in the outfield, failure to sign Tanaka would make a trade involving Gardner for another starting pitcher more likely.
Though the Yankees clearly covet the 25-year-old right-hander, they are just one of as many as a dozen teams to have interest in the Rakuten standout, who began meeting teams in Los Angeles Thursday.
Tanaka and his agent, Casey Close, have until 5 p.m. on Jan. 24 to strike a deal with a major league team, which would then pay Rakuten a $20 million posting fee in addition to a contract that figures to be in the six-year, $100 million range.
As for Wells, despite having a huge contract that will pay him $21 million in 2014, the Yankees are on the hook for just $2.5 million, with the Angels picking up the rest.
The Yankees still have to find a way to get newly acquired second baseman Brian Roberts on the roster. With a decision from arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on Rodriguez’s appeal of his 211-game suspension expected to come soon, another roster spot could open up.