NEW YORK -- The Yankees have signed outfielder Billy Burns to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced on Monday.
Burns, 29, spent the 2018 season with the Royals' Triple-A Omaha affiliate, hitting .255 (96-for-376) with 51 runs scored, nine doubles, four homers, 36 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 102 games.
The switch-hitter has played parts of four Major League seasons with the Athletics (2014-16) and the Royals (2016-17), batting .270 (228-for-843) with 114 runs scored, 29 doubles, 13 triples, five homers, 55 RBIs and 46 steals in 242 games. The Atlanta native has made 186 of his 194 career starts in center field.
Burns was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 32nd round of the 2011 Draft. He projects to add depth for the Yankees, as they already wield a crowded outfield -- the main reason, general manager Brian Cashman has said, that the club is sitting out in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes.
At last month's Winter Meetings, Cashman rattled off the names of six outfielders -- Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton -- saying that at no time had he voiced a need or desire to add more. Burns would need to surpass or outlast those names on the depth chart in order to receive significant playing time.