The Yankees have claimed first baseman Travis Ishikawa off waivers from the Orioles, the team announced. I assume he’ll join the big league team to give Lyle Overbay a proper backup and Joe Girardi a left-handed bat off the bench. Kevin Youkilis was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot. I’m guessing David Adams will go back to Triple-A to clear a 25-man roster spot.
Ishikawa, 29, went 2-for-17 (.118) for Baltimore earlier this year. They called him up after he exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract. Ishikawa hit .316/.413/.525 (156 wRC+) in 208 Triple-A plate appearances this year, including a .331/.434/.568 line against righties. He’s a career .260/.324/.399 (93 wRC+) hitter in 857 big league plate appearances, which is broken down into .262/.330/.409 (97 wRC+) against right-handers and .244/.281/.322 (61 wRC+) against lefties. Ishikawa is out of options and can not be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers. Finally, a usable bench bat.
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