Veteran infielder Jordy Mercer accepts outright assignment by Yankees

The Yankees announced that veteran infielder Jordy Mercer has accepted an outright assignment to the team’s alternate training site. He was designated for assignment Tuesday, just days after having his contract selected on Aug. 28. Mercer has enough service time that he could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, but he’ll instead head to the Yankees’ alternate site. As a result, he’ll remain in New York’s 60-man player pool and be eligible to return later in the season should the team wish to re-add him to the 40-man roster.

Mercer, 34, went 2-for-11 with a pair of walks in six games and 13 total plate appearances with the Yankees. The nine-year MLB veteran was Pittsburgh’s everyday shortstop from 2013-18, hitting .257/.317/.383 in 779 games along the way.

Mercer spent last year with the Tigers — his first anywhere other than the Pirates — and salvaged what was shaping up to be a dismal season with an excellent .312/.343/.512 slash in his final 48 games. He returned to the Tigers in 2020 but was cut loose early in the year when they opted to give younger talent a look as their rebuild progresses. He can play all over the infield, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Mercer return later this month should an injury pop up in the Yankees’ infield.