<p>TAMPA, Fla. — Outfielder Jay Bruce has made the New York Yankees’ opening day roster, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>The Yankees notified Major League Baseball that Bruce’s contract will be selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the person said Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced.</p>
<p>Bruce gets a contract paying $1.35 million while in the major leagues and $150,000 should he be assigned to the minors.</p>
<p>He entered Saturday with a .194 average, two homers and three RBIs in 31 at-bats during spring training.</p>
<p>Bruce making the team could lead to a trade of outfielder Michael Tauchman, who is out of minor league options.</p>
<p>Bruce is a rare left-handed bat on the heavily right-handed Yankees. In their projected batting order, switch-hitting center fielder Aaron Hicks is joined by eight right-handed hitters. Left-handed-hitting outfielder Brett Gardner, projected as a reserve behind Clint Frazier, also figures to get significant playing time.</p>
<p>Bruce hit .198 with six homers and 14 RBIs for Philadelphia in 96 at-bats during the pandemic-shortened season. He is a three-time All-Star with a .245 average, 318 home runs and 948 RBIs during 13 big league seasons with Cincinnati (2008-15), the New York Mets (2016-18), Cleveland (2018), Seattle (2019) and the Phillies.</p>
<p>New York also decided to release infielder Derek Dietrich and injured catcher Robinson Chirinos from minor league contracts. Releasing them does not preclude the Yankees from re-signing them.</p>
<hr />
<p>AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___ </p>
<p>More AP MLB: <a href="https://apnews.com/MLB">https://apnews.com/MLB</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
