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          New York Yankees

          Yankees sign Juan Rivera

          • Andrew Marchand, ESPN Senior WriterJan 28, 2013, 04:46 PM ET
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              Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »
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          The New York Yankees have reunited with outfielder Juan Rivera, a source tells ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews. It is a minor league deal, allowing Rivera to compete with Matt Diaz and Russ Canzler to be a right-handed-hitting outfielder for the Yankees.

          With Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner joining Curtis Granderson in the outfield, whomever wins the spot(s) figures to receive plenty of playing time. Ichiro, Gardner and Granderson are all lefties.

          In 109 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, Rivera hit .244 with nine homers and 47 RBIs. Against lefties, he hit .260 with a .745 OPS. He missed a portion of the season with an injured hamstring.

          Rivera, 34, began his career with the Yankees, playing his initial three seasons in the Bronx. In 2003, the Yankees traded him, along with Nick Johnson and Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vazquez.