Position: OF
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/L
Born: 08/23/1994
High School: Plano (TX) West HS
Drafted: 1st Round, 24th Overall, 2013 (Athletics)
How Acquired: Trade (with Yankees for international pool space)
Bonus: $1,800,000
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Minor League Free Agency: 2024
Options Left: 0
Overview
The A’s drafted McKinney in the first round as a prep outfielder with a line drive bat and the potential for moderate power. He’s a good athlete, allowing him to play all three outfield positions. He’s also played a little at first. His speed and arm are average. As a major leaguer, OAA and UZR both have seen his defense as around average. The bat has never really developed and he has a poor 81 wRC+ in nearly 1000 major league plate appearances. McKinney’s strikeout and walk rates — 26% and 9% respectively — are weak. He’s shown a little power. He’s had a minimal platoon split. He has a voluminous transaction history, including seven trades and two stints each with Oakland and the Yankees. The Pirates acquired him for international bonus pool space. He’s on a minor league contract.
2013-17
McKinney made mostly steady progress as he moved up to AAA, spending his time with three different organizations. He hit well in short-season ball his first year, including a .964 OPS in a nine-game stint in the New York-Penn League. In 2014, he made the jump to High Class A and also got traded from the A’s to the Cubs in July. Between the two organizations he put up a .766 OPS at age 19; oddly, he hit better in the offense-stifling Florida State League after the trade than in the high-offense California League before. In 2015, after a fast start in High A, the Cubs moved him up to AA and he posted a .766 OPS there, again at a young age for the level.
In 2016, the Cubs sent McKinney back to AA, then traded him to the Yankees in a deadline deal for Aroldis Chapman. He finished the season in AA with New York. McKinney didn’t hit well at either location, with a .680 OPS for the season. Through 2016, Baseball America had consistently ranked him among the top ten prospects for his various teams, but after the 2016 season BA ranked him 23rd in the Yankees’ system.
The Yankees returned McKinney to AA in 2017 and he hit a little better, with a .770 OPS. He improved after a mid-season promotion to AAA, batting 306/336/541 with ten home runs in 55 games. His plate discipline was a red flag though, as he drew nine walks while striking out 49 times. The Yankees added McKinney to their 40-man roster after the season.
2018-20
McKinney moved around a lot in 2018. He started the season with the Yankees, but suffered a shoulder injury in his second game. He was out for six weeks, then worked his way back to AAA in late May. At the trade deadline, the Yankees sent McKinney to Toronto for J.A. Happ. The Jays assigned him to AAA at first, then called him up for the last month and a half of the season. For the season, majors and minors, McKinney totaled 22 home runs, but his OBP in AAA was below .300. It was .318 in the majors.
Toronto kept McKinney in the majors for the majority of 2019. He continued to show some power, with a dozen home runs in the equivalent of less than half the season, but he batted just .215 with a .274 OBP for the Jays. In the pandemic season he got just three at-bats. After the season, Toronto removed McKinney from the roster and Milwaukee claimed him off waivers.
2021-23
McKinney bounced around a lot from 2021-23 as he struggled to hit. He spent nearly all of 2021 in the majors, but he was designated for assignment twice and included in minor trades. He went from the Brewers to the Mets to the Dodgers. Overall, he hit just 193/280/359. After the season, the Dodgers sent him to Texas in a cash deal, but the Rangers removed him from the roster a week later and he became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal for 2022 with Oakland, got called up in April, then outrighted to AAA a week later. He struggled badly in the majors, batting .096, but had a .926 OPS in AAA, albeit in a very high offense environment.
After the 2022 season, McKinney became a free agent again and signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. He had an .899 OPS in AAA and New York called him up in June. McKinney hit reasonably well for the Yankees, batting 227/320/406 in 147 plate appearances, good for a 101 wRC+. The Yankees removed him from the roster in November 2023, signed him to a minor league deal a month later, then traded him to the Pirates a week later for $500,000 in international bonus pool space.
2024
McKinney opened 2024 with Indianapolis, but missed two months out of the middle of the season. He hit well and, when Andrew McCutchen got hurt in mid-August, the Pirates called McKinney up. They then designated him for assignment in early September.
Stats
Transactions
June 6, 2013: Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round, 24th overall pick; signed on June 14.
July 5, 2014: Traded by the Oakland Athletics with Addison Russell, Dan Straily and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija.
July 25, 2016: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Adam Warren, Gleyber Torres and Rashad Crawford to the New York Yankees for Aroldis Chapman.
November 20, 2017: Contract purchased by the New York Yankees.
July 26, 2018: Traded by the New York Yankees with Brandon Drury to the Toronto Blue Jays for J.A. Happ.
September 14, 2020: Claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
May 26, 2021: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the New York Mets for Pedro Quintana.
July 21, 2021: Traded by the New York Mets to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Carlos Rincon and cash.
November 22, 2021: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Zach Reks to the Texas Rangers for cash.
November 30, 2021: Became a free agent.
March 20, 2022: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Oakland Athletics.
April 7, 2022: Called up by the Oakland Athletics.
May 11, 2022: Outrighted to AAA by the Oakland Athletics.
November 10, 2022: Became a free agent.
December 19, 2022: Signed as a minor league free agent by the New York Yankees.
June 7, 2023: Called up by the New York Yankees.
November 2, 2023: Outrighted to AAA by the New York Yankees.
November 6, 2023: Refused assignment and became a free agent.
December 8, 2023: Signed as a minor league free agent by the New York Yankees.
Deceember 14, 2023: Traded by the New York Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates for $500,000 in international pool space.
August 19, 2024: Called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 8, 2024: Outrighted to AAA by the Pittsburgh Pirates.