The Yankees PR department tweeted that the team has acquired infielder Gregorio Petit from the Astros in exchange for cash. Ten minutes later, they tweeted that Brendan Ryan has been diagnosed with a grade 2 calf strain. Presumably, Petit will take Ryan’s spot on the Opening Day roster as the backup shortstop/middle infielder.
Petit, 30, can play shortstop, second base and third. This all but assures that fan favorite Rob Refsnyder will start the year in Triple A. Jose Pirela would have probably been the replacement, but he still hasn’t been cleared yet to resume baseball activities after suffering a concussion.
Petit is a career .278 hitter in 62 games over parts of three seasons. He made his debut with Oakland in 2008 and played there through ’09. He then spent the next four seasons bouncing around in the minors before playing in 37 games for the Astros last year.
Petit is hitting .320 (8-for-25) with 5 RBI this spring. He’ll report to the big league camp tomorrow.
Today the Yankees acquired minor league INF Gregorio Petit from Houston in exchange for cash considerations.
รยขรยรย Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) April 2, 2015
