Brett Gardner finalizes deal to stay with Yankees

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New York Yankee Brett Gardner (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK - Brett Gardner and the New York Yankees have finalized a one-year contract worth $5.15 million for the outfielder to return for his 14th season in pinstripes.

He gets a $1 million signing bonus and a $1.85 million salary for 2021. The veteran outfielder's agreement includes a $2.3 million player option for 2022. If Gardner declines the option, the Yankees would have a $7.15 million option for 2022 with a $1.15 million buyout.

He is the last player remaining from the Yankees' World Series-winning team from 2009.

Gardner, 37, hit .223 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 130 at-bats last year, rebounding after a slump that sunk his average at .169 at the start of September. He batted .369 (7 for 19) in the playoffs.

He is the 18th Yankee to play in at least 1,500 games for the franchise, the team said. He also became the 17th player in Yankees history to appear in a game for the club in three different decades, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Gardner is one of only five players drafted and signed by the Yankees to record at least 1,000 hits with the club, the team said. That puts him in good company; the other four players are Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson, and Jorge Posada.

His 270 career stolen bases rank third on the Yankees' all-time list behind Derek Jeter's 358 and Rickey Henderson's 326.

To make room for Gardner on the 40-man roster, the Yankees placed Luis Severino on the 60-day injured list.

With The Associated Press