The 30-year-old Hummel spent time with four different organizations in 2025, including two stints with the Astros. The club assigned him to assignment in late March and he joined the Yankees on a minor league deal. New York released Hummel in late May, and he joined the Orioles. He appeared in one game with the team and struckout in his lone at bat. Hummel was subsequently DFAed and soon found himself back in Houston. He earned semi-regular at-bats with the Astros until he was re-designated for assignment. Hummel finished the year at Triple-A in the Rays system.
Hummel hit just .170 with three home runs and a stolen base at the big league level last year. He now has a 58 wRC+ over 119 career games. Hummel made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2022. He came to the organization from the Brewers in a headline trade Eduardo Escobar. Hummel slashed .176/.274/.307 in 201 appearances with Arizona, his most extensive MLB work to date. He also had brief stints with Seattle in 2023 and Houston in 2024.
Strikeouts are a consistent problem for Hummel. Last season he posted a 29.5% strikeout rate between the Orioles and Astros. He is at 31.2% for his big league career. Hummel had better contact numbers in the minors and also showed a great eye for the plate, but struggled to reproduce those results at the highest level.
Hummel is the latest in a series of signings for Yokohama. The club also signed an infielder Hang in there Viciedo and added a savior Jose Ruiz the past few weeks.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
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