Delmon Young is returning to his first franchise.
The Tampa Bay Rays signed the outfielder/designated hitter to a minor-league contract Thursday, and he reported to Double-A Montgomery the same day.
The Rays selected Young as the first overall pick in the 2003 amateur draft and played for them in 2006-07, when he hit .293 (226 for 771) with 16 home runs and 103 RBI in 192 games. In November 2007, he was sent to the Minnesota Twins, along with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie, in exchange for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan.
Young played for the Twins (2008-2011) and Detroit Tigers (2011-12) before joining the Philadelphia Phillies for 80 games this season, where hit .261 (71 for 272) with eight home runs and 31 RBI. On Aug. 9, he was designated for assignment and released Aug. 14 after clearing waivers and passing on an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported the news. Rosenthal also confirmed that the Rays are working to resolve their waiver claim of outfielder David DeJesus, who was traded to the Washington Nationals from the Chicago Cubs on Monday.
The Rays will know by 1 p.m. Friday whether DeJesus will join them.
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