Logan Morrison agrees to minor league deal with Yankees

NEW YORK (AP) — Logan Morrison has agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, who sought another first base option with Greg Bird again on the injured list.

If added to the 40-man roster, Morrison would get a one-year contract with a $1 million salary while in the major leagues.

Morrison told the Tampa Bay Times in July 2017 that Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez did not deserve to be in the All-Star Home Run Derby after missing 21 games between April 8 and May 5 because of a strained right biceps.

“It’s par for the course. I play for the Rays. I get it,” Morrison told the newspaper then. “They can’t even get my picture right. When they put my name up there they put Corey (Dickerson’s) picture up there … on MLB Network. When they put up the home run leaders they put Corey’s swing on there not mine.”

In April 2018 before playing at Yankee Stadium with the Minnesota Twins, Morrison was quoted criticizing Yankees fans.

“They didn’t like the Gary Sanchez thing with the Home Run Derby,” Morrison told the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “but you can’t fix stupid, you know?”

Morrison hit .186 with 15 homers and 39 RBIs in 318 at-bats in his only season with the Twins. He set career bests with 38 homers and 85 RBIs for the Rays in 2017, and then signed a deal with the Twins that called for a $5.5 million salary last year. Minnesota declined an $8 million option for 2019 and paid a $1 million buyout.

A nine-year major league veteran, the 31-year-old has a .239 career average with 137 homers and 421 RBIs.

A left-handed hitter, Morrison could complement right-handed-hitting Luke Voit. Bird went on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a left plantar fascia tear, and manager Aaron Boone said he expect Bird will miss at least a month.