Yankees Reportedly Sign Journeyman First Baseman

According to Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton, the New York Yankees have signed first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown to a minor-league contract.

The Yankees and OF/1B Seth Brown have agreed to a Minor League deal, sources tell @JustBB_Media

Brown, 33, owns a career .226/.292/.419 slash (100 wRC+) over parts of seven MLB seasons, but was limited to just 38 games in 2025 with injury.

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) January 19, 2026

Brown was selected by the Athletics in the 19th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut in 2019, appearing in 26 games and showing early promise with a .293 batting average. Over the next few seasons, Brown established himself as a power hitter, posting back-to-back 20-home-run campaigns in 2021 and 2022, contributing 45 homers and driving in 129 runs during that span.

His performance dipped in subsequent years, with injuries and inconsistencies limiting his output. In 2024, he batted .231 with 14 home runs in 124 games for Oakland. The 2025 season proved challenging; Brown struggled to a .185 average with just one homer in 38 appearances, hampered by a left elbow injury that led to his release from the Athletics on June 26.

He signed a minor-league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, briefly playing for their Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces, where he hit seven home runs in nine games before being released on August 10.

Through 568 career games, Brown holds a .226 average, 74 home runs, and 233 RBIs.

The Yankees’ starting first baseman in 2026 is expected to be Ben Rice.