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The Yankees have traded Chris Stewart to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or money. Stewart will be reunited in Pittsburgh with Yankees castoff Russell Martin and will likely compete with Michael McKenry (if he isn't non-tendered himself) and Tony Sanchez for the backup job.
After signing Brian McCann to a five-year, $80 million contract, the Yankees were left with Chris Stewart, J.R. Murphy, Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli, and Gary Sanchez on the 40-man roster. They needed to get rid of someone, and since Stewart was a non-tender candidate, it made sense to try to at least get something for him. The Yankees will still have five catchers on the 40-man roster, so it's possible they might still try to trade someone.
This ends Stewart's third stint in the Yankees' organization, as he was previously picked up in 2008, traded for in 2009, and then traded for again before the 2012 season. He played the most games in a season by far when he played 109 games and got 340 at-bats for the 2013 Yankees. With him gone, the Yankees will likely give Cervelli a contract and let him compete with Murphy and Romine for the backup job this spring.
For those of you hoping for something great:
Stewart's an almost 32 y/o light hitting backup catcher who is arb eligible, so needless to say that PTBNL should be a very low level MiLBer
— Lou DiPietro (@LouDiPietroYES) December 2, 2013
UPDATE:
Deal that sent Chris Stewart to Pirates agreed to Friday, but was contingent on Stewart agreeing to new contract w/ Pitt. worked out today.
— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 2, 2013
