The Pittsburgh Pirates added to their outfield depth by acquiring Billy McKinney from the New York Yankees on Thursday in exchange for international signing bonus pool considerations.
The move doesn’t affect the 40-man roster.
A left-handed hitter, McKinney batted .227/.320/.406 with three doubles, a triple, six home runs and 14 RBIs in 48 games for the Yankees last season. He played 33 games in left field, 10 in right, nine in center and one game at first base for the Yankees.
The 29-year-old outfielder was a 2013 first-round pick of the Oakland A’s (No. 24 overall) but has had a journeyman career after being traded six times and playing for seven teams in six seasons, including the A’s and Yankees twice each. McKinney was involved in major trades that included pitchers Jeff Samardzija, Aroldis Chapman and J.A. Happ.
McKinney has a career .209/.284/.390 slash line with 36 doubles, five triples, 34 homers and 86 RBIs in 311 career games.
