Yankees Add Brian Roberts and Matt Thornton

Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Brian Roberts, here tagging out Brett Gardner, has plenty of history at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees added to their infield and bullpen depth Tuesday, agreeing to contracts with second baseman Brian Roberts and the left-hander Matt Thornton. Roberts will get a $2 million guarantee for one year, while Thornton will make $7 million over two years.

The Roberts contract was confirmed by a baseball official who was not authorized to speak publicly because the deal is pending a physical exam. Thornton's agent, Adam Hubble, confirmed his contract agreement and said Thornton would be taking his physical in the next week.

Roberts, 36, gives the Yankees another option at second base after the free-agent departure of Robinson Cano, who left for a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners. Thornton, 37, replaces Boone Logan, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies.

Roberts, a switch-hitter who made the final out at the original Yankee Stadium in 2008, batted .249 with eight homers last season, playing 77 games, his highest total since 2009. He has missed significant time since then because of concussions and injuries to his abdominal muscle, groin, hip and knee.

If healthy, Roberts can team with Kelly Johnson and perhaps Brendan Ryan at second base. Ryan, primarily a shortstop, can also play third, with Eduardo Nunez and Johnson, to fill in for Alex Rodriguez if an arbitrator upholds some or all of his 211-game drug suspension.

Thornton has worked at least 60 games in each of the last eight seasons, all with the Chicago White Sox until a trade to the Boston Red Sox last July. Thornton, who made the All-Star team in 2010, allowed a .235 average to left-handed hitters last season, compared with .333 against right-handers. Lefties have hit .233 off him in his career, and righties have hit .241.

Thornton missed most of August with a strained oblique muscle, and had a 3.52 earned run average in 20 games for the Red Sox, allowing 22 hits in 15 1/3 innings. He was not included on the postseason roster.

"Matt has a history of being both durable and consistent in his performance," Hubble said. "It was a rough small sample in Boston, but he had an oblique strain. That throws everything off for a pitcher, and he probably came back earlier just because of the situation. That really didn't reflect who he is."

The Yankees, whose best left-handed option before Tuesday was probably the untested Cesar Cabral, are betting $7 million on Thornton's track record. He joins a bullpen with David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Preston Claiborne and at least two open spots.

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