The Yankees have brought back Erik Kratz and signed him to a minor-league deal, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Friday morning.
Kratz, a 39-year-old catcher who previously had stints with the Yankees and their Triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre between 2017 and 2019, returns to a team that is in need of potential catching down the line.
With Austin Romine signing with the Detroit Tigers this offseason, that left Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka as the only two catchers left on their roster.
Sanchez has been injury prone throughout his career and Higashioka is still a young player with limited experience, so bringing in Kratz as a potential safety net is a solid move by the Yankees front office.
Kratz spent seven seasons in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in 2010 for the Pirates. Since then, he has bounced back and forth between the minors and majors, and has played for eight organizations in his career -- including multiple stints with the Pirates, Phillies and Yankees.