Slugger Carter headed to Yankees

Chris Carter, who tied for the National League home run lead last season, agreed to a US$3.5-million, one-year contract with the New York Yankees.

The deal, subject to a successful physical, includes a $500,000 signing bonus, a $3-million salary and $500,000 in performance bonuses: $100,000 each for 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.

Carter, whose career-high 41 home runs last season matched Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for tops in the NL, became a free agent in December when Milwaukee failed to offer a 2017 contract.

Carter hit .222 with a career-best 94 RBIs while appearing in an NLleading 160 games last season. He played 155 games at first base in his first year in the NL after spending the first six years of his career in the American League with Oakland and Houston. Carter’s 27 doubles, 122 hits, 76 walks and 84 runs last season were also careerhighs, but he struck out 206 times.

It’s unclear how the Yankees will use the 30-year-old Carter; lefthanded-hitting Greg Bird expected to play first and Matt Holliday is likely to be the regular designated hitter. Seeking right-handed bats to balance a batting order dependent on lefty power, the Yankees agreed earlier this off-season to a US$13-million, one-year contact with Holliday.

Meanwhile, Mike Napoli and the Texas Rangers are working toward another reunion, this time to fill pressing needs the AL West champions have for a first baseman and another big bat in the middle of the lineup. The slugger and the team have been negotiating a contract, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Napoli hit a career-high 34 homers last year in his only season with Cleveland, where he signed as a free agent after spending the final two months of the 2015 season in Texas.