Yankees sign Jace Peterson to minor-league deal

The Yankees have signed Jace Peterson to a minor-league deal, a source confirmed to SB Nation on Friday afternoon. Peterson was non-tendered by the Braves last month.

Peterson, 27, played six positions for the Braves in 2017, seeing time at all four infield spots and both corner outfield positions. He’ll provide versatility for a Yankees club that has some question marks in its infield in the wake of trades that sent Starlin Castro to Miami and Chase Headley to San Diego.

Peterson, who was the Padres’ first-round pick in the 2011 draft, was originally dealt to Atlanta in the 2014 trade that sent Justin Upton to the Padres. He has since hit .240/.326/.342 with 15 homers in 356 games for the Braves, seeing 152 games of action in 2015 before his role decreased in 2016 and 2017. Peterson appeared in just 89 major-league games last year, spending a sizable portion of the season at Triple-A.

Peterson is expected to compete for a bench role in New York, with Tyler Austin and Tyler Wade serving as potential backup options behind possible starters Miguel Andujar, Ronald Torreyes and Gleyber Torres. The Yankees are also exploring bigger free-agent additions to address the holes left by the departures of Castro and Headley.