Feb 26, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Cooper Hummel (1) runs after he hits a ball to right field during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Former Yankees Minor Leaguer Signs with AL East Foe

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated May 25, 2025 4:57 PM ET

A former New York Yankees minor leaguer who recently parted ways with the organization has been picked up by another AL East team as he looks to revitalize his career.

Cooper Hummel, who has expansive experience at catcher, first base and in the outfield, has signed a one-year major league contract with the Baltimore Orioles, per Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun.

Orioles have signed outfielder Cooper Hummel after he opted out of his contract with the Yankees. Terrin Vavra has been DFA’d.

Hummel, a switch-hitter, has a career .159 batting average in 82 MLB games but he has a career .284 BA and .894 OPS in Triple-A.
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 25, 2025

The 30-year-old has accrued just over a year of service time while not yet reaching arbitration. The Orioles, who entered the season with playoff expectations, currently sit in the basement of the division with an 18-34 record. They've seen a pair of their corner outfielders in Ramon Laureano and Tyler O'Neill, both of whom signed as free agents this past offseason, hit the injured list recently, which served as precursors to the club bringing in Hummel.

The Yankees inked Hummel to a minor league contract in April after he was designated for assignment by the Houston Astros and elected free agency.

Over 10 games and 41 plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he slashed .258/.415/.290 with no home runs and two RBIs. The switch-hitter was put on the 7-day IL on April 14 and was not activated until May 10.

Hummel officially triggered his release clause earlier this week and subsequently reached the open market, paving the way for Baltimore to scoop him up. He doesn't have any options remaining, meaning the Orioles cannot send him to the minors without him first passing through waivers after being DFA'd.

An 18th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2016 MLB Draft, Hummel remained with the organization until a trade at the 2021 deadline sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Eduardo Escobar.

He made his big league debut for the club in 2022 and batted .176/.274/.307 across 201 trips to the plate. Hummel was sent to the Seattle Mariners for Kyle Lewis that November and would appear in 10 contests for them in 2023.

He's bounced around since then, however, with his most notable destination being Houston, where he played in six games last season.

Hummel will now have another chance to prove himself capable of holding down a role in the majors while in close proximity to the Yankees.

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