Former Dodgers Outfielder Replacing Injured Aaron Judge on Yankees Active Roster
Former Dodgers outfielder Billy McKinney is officially back in the MLB. On Wednesday, the New York Yankees announced a slew of roster moves, including them selecting the contract of McKinney and signing him to a Major League deal. He's replacing Aaron Judge, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right toe sprain he suffered banging into (and breaking) the Dodger Stadium fence on Saturday.
McKinney has been with the Yankees Triple-A affiliate this season, and has played very well. In 40 games, McKinney slashed .274/.388/.511 with nine home runs and 25 runs batted in.
The Yankees will hope that he continues that level of play in the majors, however, he's struggled in the big leagues throughout his career.
In five years in the MLB, McKinney is hitting .206/.277/.387 with 28 home runs and 72 runs batted in.
In his most recent big league stint with the Oakland Athletics in 2022, McKinney appeared in 23 games, and hit an abysmal .096/.158/.173 with just seven hits and two extra-base hits.
In 2021, McKinney was with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and the Dodgers. With Los Angeles, McKinney got a decent amount of playing time, but struggled mightily. He ended up playing in 37 games with the Dodgers, which felt like a little too much considering the lack of production he was giving them.
Now, though, after a strong start to the 2023 season in the minors, McKinney will hope to get his career back on track. He's still just 28 years old, so maybe he can find some success in New York. It's definitely not an easy place to play, but maybe he can find some luck in the short porch in right field.
Good luck in New York, Billy!
