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Yankees Sign Brett Gardner to a 4-Year Extension

The New York Yankees have locked up outfielder Brett Gardner for four more years, signing the outfielder to a contract extension worth $52 million.  The deal, which will officially begin in 2015, also includes a $12.5 million club option (or $2 million buyout) for the 2019 season.

Yankees Sign Brett Gardner to a 4-Year Extension

Gardner would have been arbitration eligible for the third and final time this off-season.  He could have been a free agent following the 2015 season.  The deal thus includes one arbitration year and three (or four) free agency years.

The 30-year-old Gardner hit .273/.344/.416 with eight home runs, 52 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and 81 runs scored in 145 games for the Yankees last season.  He has spent the last six seasons with the Yankees.

Gardner is one of the best defensive outfielders in the majors.  He will shift back to his natural left field position this season as the Yankees signed former Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury as a free agent earlier in the off-season.  This change will help to maximize Gardner’s defensive value.

“I feel comfortable over there,” Gardner told MLB.com this week. “I told (Joe Girardi) I can play right too if he needs me to.  I’ll do whatever I’m needed to do to help my team win. … Having (Ellsbury) over here makes us a better team. I’m happy to play alongside of him and learn from him, and he’s obviously a really good baserunner. We’re kind of the same type of player.”

Carlos Beltran is expected to play right field for the Yankees.  With Beltran signed through 2016, Gardner through 2018 and Ellsbury through 2020, the Yankees have their starting outfield locked up for at least the next three years.

 

 

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