Tribe Inks Former Twin Tyner to Minor League Deal
The Indians today announced they have signed 30-year old light hitting Jason Tyner to a minor league deal. Tyner is a pretty funny story, as he went 1,220 Major League at-bats without a career homer, and finally hit his first MLB homer off of – Jake Westbrook, back when he was with the Twins against the Tribe on July 28th of last season.
Tyner is not going to really do much else other than play every couple of days in the Tribe outfield, but he can steal a few bases and is basically a slap, singles hitter that will be able to move runners over with bunts and sac outs now and then. Below is the short presser from Bart on the move:
The Indians today signed OF JASON TYNER to a minor league contract. He will report to early minor league camp in the coming days.
Tyner owns a career Major League batting average of .275 (373-1356) with 41 2B, 11 3B, 1HR & 94RBI in 439 games with the Mets, Devil Rays and Twins. He was the first round pick (21st overall) of the New York Mets in 1998 out of Texas A&M University. He spent 38 games in AAA Buffalo in 2004 where he hit .345 (48-139). He spent the last 3 seasons in the Minnesota organization and appeared in the Big Leagues in each of those seasons with the Twins.
Matt has covered Major League Baseball and the "other two" Pro teams in Cleveland since 1994. He has been on the beat of the Indians in full-time mode since 1996, working for various raido and print networks around the country.
