The Yankees have signed infielder to a minor league deal, as announced by the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (h/t to ). that Candelario is expected to report to Triple-A on Monday and that Candelario had multiple offers before he settled on the Yankees. Candelario, 31, was recently by the Reds while in the midst of year two of his three-year pact with the organization. Its not hard to see why Cincinnati pulled the plug, as he has battled injuries all throughout his tenure with the club and hit just .207/.265/.394 acro s 134 games with the club over the past two seasons. Almost all of that production came in year one of the contract, as Candelario made it into just 22 games this year and hit a paltry .113/.198/.213 in 91 trips to the plate before being designated for a signment. Despite that lackluster work in recent years, Candelario is not far removed from a four-year run from 2020 to 2023 where he slashed a strong .254/.329/.437 in 465 games for the Tigers, Nationals, and Cubs. That production wound up being good for a wRC+ of 111, and he enjoyed three-win campaigns in both David Fletcher Jersey 2021 and 23. A resurgence to that sort of level would be a godsend for the scuffling Yankees. A recent skid where theyve lost 16 of their last 22 games has seen them drop from the heavy favorites in the AL East to three games back of the Blue Jays and tied with the Rays in the division. That consistent stretch of losing has led to plenty of attention on the clubs hole on the infield. is a solid player who can handle either second or third base as nece sary, but a supporting cast of and to hold down the other position just hasnt cut it. If Candelario can prove hes healthy and effective again, its not hard to imagine him being an upgrade over the Yankees current options to partner with Chisholm. With that being said, trade season is already upon us and some intriguing infielders like , , , and could be available this summer. Any of those players would be a more reliable addition than Candelario at this point, and its not hard to imagine the Yankees feeling as though they cant afford to roll the dice on a player who hasnt been healthy and effective in nearly two years now. Still, hed at the very least represent a more robust depth option for the Yankees than the likes of and who were already in the organization on minor league deals. Mike Lum Jersey