Red Sox agree to terms with free-agent, ex-Yankee OF Chris Young

He's great against left-handed pitching, and he's one of the top pull-hitters in the league -- which makes him quite dangerous at Fenway Park.

By Dave Brown

Nov 30, 2015 at 2:00 pm ET • 1 min read

The Boston Red Sox agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Young on a multi-year contract Monday afternoon, CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman has confirmed. It's possible that Young, a right-handed hitter, would be part of a platoon in left field in 2016.

UPDATE: Heyman also has confirmed the contract details: Two years and $13 million total. Young made $2.5 million with the Yankees in 2015, and $7.25 million with the Mets in '13.

He might not seem like a big deal superficially, as Young batted .252 with 14 home runs, a .320 on-base and .453 slugging percentage in 140 games for the Yankees in 2015. But it's his performance against lefties that caught Boston's eye. Young batted .327/.397/.575 in 175 plate appearances against lefties, and has a career .837 OPS against them in his career of nine-plus seasons in the majors. He also is a .344/.431/.623 slash line in 73 plate appearances at Fenway Park, albeit against Red Sox pitching (which he'll no longer be facing).

Fenway Park -- the place with the inviting Green Monster in left field.

Chris Young, career wOBA by direction: .496 pull, .291 center, .156 oppo. Maybe the most Fenway-friendly player in baseball.
— David Cameron (@DCameronFG) November 30, 2015

Pull% vs. LHP (2015) 1. Brian Dozier (62.8%) 2. Jose Bautista (58.1) 3. Jay Bruce (58.1) 4. Chris Young (56.3)
— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) November 30, 2015

He can hit other places, too:

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With the likes of Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, Rusney Castillo and even Brock Holt in the mix in the outfield, the Red Sox probably will be looking to trade some of their excess. Bradley's name has been mentioned most prominently, though as a left-handed hitter, he would make sense as a platoon partner with Young. Betts and Castillo hit right-handed, and Holt is a lefty probably best-suited for the infield.