Cubs, former Twins, Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin agree to one-year MLB deal
The Chicago Cubs have signed former Minnesota Twins first baseman Tyler Austin to a one-year, $1.25 million deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and The New York Post's Jon Heyman.
Austin, 34, spent the past six seasons in Japan, slashing .293/.377/.568 with 85 home runs and 236 RBI in 1,491 plate appearances.
The New York Yankees selected Austin in the 13th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Pre-2013, MLB Pipeline had him ranked as the No. 75 prospect in the league, and Baseball America had him ranked No. 77.
Austin struggled to maintain a full-time role in the Majors, which led him to relocate to Japan. He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2016. He played in 85 games for New York over parts of three seasons, slashing .230/.287/.459 (97 OPS+) with 15 homers and 43 RBI before being traded to the Twins along with righty Luis Rijo for righty Lance Lynn on July 30, 2018. As a Yankee in 2018, Austin famously charged the mound after getting hit by a pitch from Boston Red Sox righty Joe Kelly, leading to a benches-clearing brawl between the American League East rivals.
Benches clear, punches thrown in Yankees-Red Sox after Tyler Austin is hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly. pic.twitter.com/wvqoak8QMV
— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2018
Austin appeared in 35 games with the Twins in 2018, then played in just two games with them in 2019 before being designated for assignment and then traded to the San Francisco Giants for left fielder Malique Ziegler. Austin hit .236/.298/.488 (110 OPS+) with nine homers and 24 RBI in 141 plate appearances with the Twins.
Austin hit .185/.279/.400 (78 OPS+) in 70 games with San Francisco in 2019. The Giants designated him for assignment in August of that year, then he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit .200/.370/.450 (112 OPS+) in 27 plate appearances with Milwaukee before signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He has dealt with numerous injuries during his time in Japan, but he has impressed enough when healthy to earn an MLB contract.
The Cubs already have a first baseman in left-handed hitter Michael Busch, who posted 4.6 bWAR and a .261/.343/.523 (147 OPS+) slash line with 34 homers and 90 RBI for Chicago this past season. However, Busch struggled against lefties, hitting .207/.274/.368. Because of that, the Cubs will likely start Austin at first base when the opposing starting pitcher is a southpaw.