Former Cincinnati Reds utility player Derek Dietrich is opting out of his contract with the New York Yankees and becoming a free agent, according to multiple reports Saturday. Dietrich has spent this season with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Dietrich was among the Yankees' non-roster invitees to 2021 Spring Training.
Dietrich was released by the Chicago Cubs last August. He had asked the Reds for his release when he wasn't placed on their roster. He signed with the Cubs later in the same week, but never received a call-up to Chicago's active roster.
Dietrich missed the first two weeks of the Reds' preseason camp after testing positive for COVID-19 in June. In 2019 - his only season with the Reds - he hit 18 home runs before the All-Star Break, but just one after it. He hit .187 with 43 RBIs in 306 plate appearances.
Dietrich played his first six MLB seasons for the Marlins.
Last March, Dietrich whispered into a microphone as he chewed gum, ate peanuts and covered Eminem's "Lose Yourself" while adding lyrics - including a reminder that he homered off of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Archer in April 2019. Archer threw behind Dietrich - sparking the first Reds-Pirates brawl of that season - after Dietrich reacted to a home run against Archer in Pittsburgh on April 7.
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