St. Petersburg, FL – The Tampa Bay Rays signed outfielder Delmon Young to a minor league deal on Thursday.
Young has been assigned to Double-A Montgomery.
Young was designated for assignment by the Philadelphia Phillies Aug. 9, then released five days later by the club after clearing waivers and refusing an outright assignment to Triple A.
Young, 27, signed a one-year contract with the Phillies over the winter after helping the Detroit Tigers to a World Series appearance. The 2012 ALCS MVP underwent offseason ankle surgery and didn't debut for Philadelphia until late April. He batted .261 with eight homers and 31 RBI over 80 games.
Young returns to the organization that originally selected him with the first overall pick in the 2003 June Draft. He played for the Rays in 2006-07, hitting .293 with 16 home runs and 103 RBI in 192 games before being traded in November of 2007 to the Minnesota Twins along with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie in exchange for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan.
In his only full season with the Rays, he finished second in the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year voting to Boston's Dustin Pedroia after hitting .288 (186- for-645) with 13 home runs, 38 doubles, 93 RBI and 10 stolen bases in all 162 games.
For his career, Young has an average of .283 with 97 homers and 513 RBI.
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