Yankees sign Chris Parmelee for potential first base and outfield depth

In a move that was announced on the player's own Instagram account, the Yankees have apparently signed Chris Parmelee to what is almost certainly a minor league deal. The first baseman/outfielder spent last season in the Orioles organization between the big leagues and Triple-A.

In 32 big league games last year, Parmelee hit .216/.255/.433 with four home runs. He spent the entirety of his career with the Twins, though he just made his major league debut in 2011 after being the 20th overall pick in the 2006 draft. Perhaps the Yankees are hoping they can tap into some of that potential.

Parmelee is the definition of a player who serves as depth but isn't quite good enough to stick on a 25-man roster regularly with his career .245/.311/.395 triple slash. He's probably only going to be a factor for the big league club in the case of an emergency.

What Parmelee does represent, however, is an upgrade at first base over the likes of Tyler Austin or the now departed Kyle Roller. Greg Bird's injury prevents him from being a safety net in case of a Mark Teixeira injury, and the only real backup they have at first base is Dustin Ackley.

In all, this move is mostly meaningless. Parmelee is likely to only be someone you think about if you're attending Triple-A games, unless something goes terribly wrong at the big league level. Still, he broke the news of his signing on his own Instagram. What a world we live in.