The former Cincinnati Reds 3B will have another shot to prolong his big league career.
The New York Yankees are in a horrible funk.
They’re on the verge of being swept by the New York Mets, of all rivals, while in the midst of a 6 game losing streak. They’ve lost 7 of 9 overall after dropping their late-June series to the Cincinnati Reds, and at just 48-41 overall they’ve lost control over the AL East to the Toronto Blue Jays (51-38).
They’ve also identified a hole in their infield mix, too. Namely, it’s whichever of 3B/2B that Jazz Chisholm isn’t currently manning that day, as injuries and the steep decline of DJ LeMahieu have left them in a pinch at that position.
It’s quite likely they’ll take a bigger flier on a player as the July trade deadline creeps forward, as they are the New York Yankees, after all. For the time being, though, they’re going to turn their eyes to Jeimer Candelario as a potential reclamation project after the former Reds infielder cleared waivers earlier in the week.
The Yanks and Candelario agreed to a minor league deal over the holiday weekend, as Conor Foley of YES reported.
Yankees signed Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, the RailRiders say.
— Conor Foley (@ConorFoleyYES) July 5, 2025
Candelario, signed to a 3-year, $45 million contract prior to the 2024 season by the Reds, was positively awful for the club. His defense fell off a cliff, he was injured constantly, and on the whole he provided them -1.6 bWAR in 554 PA across the 2024-2025 seasons. He posted just a .660 OPS overall, and the results weren’t getting much better with AAA Louisville prior to his release (.732 OPS in 17 G on rehab).
He’ll turn 32 in November, and he’s not too far removed from a 121 OPS+ he posted between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs back in 2023. There obviously was ample production there at one point, and the Yankees are betting small on its return after the Reds big bet on it went sour. That said, Statcast metrics that already showed steep decline in 2024 looked even worse at the outset of this season, so there’s a very, very good chance he’s cooked at this juncture of his career.