Cliff

Pennington

Pennington signed a minor league contract with New York back in early April, after getting released by the Athletics, and went on to bat .196/.306/.413 over 112 plate appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The veteran infielder will have to settle for another minor league deal to continue his playing career.

Pennington was released by the A’s over the weekend. He’ll give the Yanks some depth in the infield, where they’re dealing with multiple injuries.

The 34-year-old actually performed well during Cactus League play, hitting .296 (8-for-27) with five RBI. It’s unclear if Pennington is interested in exploring another opportunity elsewhere, or if he may be ready to hang up his cleats.

Pennington, 34, is returning to his original organization after bouncing around with several teams over the last few years. He’ll be utility infielder depth.

Pennington, a 2005 first-round pick, was just starting to heat up at Single-A Stockton in June when he suffered a setback with the left hamstring that bothered him earlier in the year. He had been sidelined the past seven weeks with the injury that originally cost him two weeks in May.

The homer was his first in 106 at-bats this season. Pennington missed two weeks with a strained hamstring.

The move was precautionary, and Pennington is considered day-to-day. Eric Sogard will play shortstop and bat ninth.

He also walked, reaching base in all five trips to the plate. Pennington has had a hot bat this spring, as he’s now hit safely in eight straight games and sports a .464 batting mark. Let us remind you, though, that he’s coming off a year where he hit just .264/.319/.369.

Pennington had hit second in each of the team’s first two games in Japan last week. Manager Bob Melvin said that Pennington hadn’t done anything wrong to be moved down in the order, but he wants to keep him near fellow speedsters Jemile Weeks and Coco Crisp. Pay attention to this situation, as Pennington definitely loses fantasy value should this move become permanent.

Pennington was pulled from Monday’s Cactus League game due to left groin soreness. It’s doubtful we’ll see him in Wednesday’s exhibition finale, but should be ready to go when the season resumes Friday.