Outfielder Billy McKinney traded from Yankees to Pirates for $500,000 in international pool

NEW YORK (AP) — Billy McKinney was traded from the Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday for $500,000 in 2023 international signing bonus pool allocation, six days after the outfielder agreed to a minor league contract with New York.

New York had an excess of outfielders after acquiring Juan Soto from San Diego and Alex Verdugo from Boston last week.

McKinney, 29, hit .227 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 48 games this season with the Yankees and batted .274 with nine homers and 25 RBIs in 40 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He made his season debut on June 8 after Aaron Judge injured a toe while crashing into the Dodger Stadium wall.

A left-handed hitter, McKinney has a .209 average with 34 homers and 86 RBIs in parts of six major league seasons that included time with the Yankees (2018, '23), Toronto (2018-20), Milwaukee (2021), the New York Mets (2021), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2021) and Oakland (2022).

The last day of the international signing period was Friday. The 2024 period opens Jan. 15.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com