Last week, the Yankees signed veteran slugger Adam Lind to a minor league deal. This continued the Yankees’ recent tradition of bringing in veteran first base insurance late in the offseason, a year after signing Chris Carter to a one year deal, and after signing Chris Parmelee in February of 2016.
Yet Lind’s signing, while similar to the acquisitions of Parmelee and Carter at first blush, appears quite different upon examination. For one, the fit isn’t quite there the way it was in past years. Greg Bird was either injured or coming off injury when the Yankees brought in their first base backups the past couple seasons, and with Bird and Tyler Austin healthy this spring, Lind doesn’t have an obvious roster spot.