The New York Yankees lineup is adding some power. The Bronx Bombers have agreed to a contract with Chris Carter, who slugged 41 home runs during the 2016 season, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.
The #Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with Chris Carter, pending a physical.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 7, 2017
Carter is certainly a flawed player. While he hit 41 bombs in 2016, he slashed at a modest .222/.321/.499 clip and struck out 206 times. Still, this figures to be a fairly low risk move for New York.
The best guess now is that Carter will eventually work his way into the short side of a platoon with Greg Bird at first base. That could change if Bird struggles to recover from injury, or designated hitter Matt Holliday gets hurt.
To be fair, neither of those scenarios is exactly unfathomable. With that, Carter could work his way into more of a full time job. Even still, the risk is minimal and the payout is high.
The low average and OBP would be troubling for a guy expected to hit in the first 4-5 spots in the order, but the Yankees have people for those spots. Carter is more likely to be used as a power source deep in the lineup, where a low average and OBP is nowhere near as costly. In the bottom part of the order, the benefit of his power will greatly outweigh the drawback of his flaws.