Yankees sign Billy Butler

The Yankees have agreed to a deal with first baseman/designated hitter Billy Butler, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports. Butler was recently released by the Athletics and will join New York for the last few weeks of the season.

Butler, 30, hit .276/.331/.403 with four home runs in 85 games with Oakland in his second season after signing a 3-year, $30 million deal with the team before last season. He was released with a year left on the deal, though it is unclear if his deal will keep him with the Yankees for the 2017 campaign.

New York has undergone a youth movement over the past two months, unloading Carlos Beltran, Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller in trades while seeing Alex Rodriguez retire and Mark Teixeira play out his final month as a major-leaguer. The addition of Butler is a curious one, though the Yanks likely see him as an offensive upgrade for a club just two games out of a Wild Card spot.

The Yankees will use Butler against left-handers in the season’s final weeks, as they face seven lefties in their final 11 games. New York already has Teixeira and Brian McCann as options at first base and designated hitter.

Butler is a veteran of 10 major-league seasons with the Royals (2007-14) and Athletics (2015-16) and owns a .289/.354/.441 line with 146 home runs in that time.