While the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez inch closer to finalizing a 10-year, $275 million deal that will be announced next week and the club scours the universe for relief pitching – Trever Miller, Jeremy Affeldt, Troy Percival, Luis Vizcaino, etc., etc. – the team made an interesting under-the-radar move.
The Yankees signed C.J. Henry to a minor league deal after their No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft asked for and was granted his release by the Phillies. He was dealt to Philly in 2006 as part of the Bobby Abreu deal.
“He came to us,” scouting head Damon Oppenheimer, the man who drafted the 21-year-old Henry, who batted .184 for Lakewood (Single-A) this past summer. “He told us he wanted to play for us and asked would we want him back? We made sure he wanted to play baseball and we found out the last month of the season he was fitted for contacts and hit .300.”
Henry, who had a basketball offer from Kansas out of high school, was drafted as a shortstop and moved to the outfield.
“He will play the outfield in the [Single A] Florida State League,” said Oppenheimer, who wasn’t sure where in Tampa’s outfield the speedy Henry would play.
Though Henry hasn’t hit in three minor league seasons, Oppenheimer said he believes the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder will benefit from being around people he knows.
“People have a feeling for him,” Oppenheimer said. “We all have a stake in this one. He means more to us than if he was with another team as a released player.”
Henry turned heads when drafted by saying he would be in the big leagues within two years, even if he had to move from short, where Derek Jeter played, to the outfield.