Raul Ibanez agreed to sign a $1.1 million deal with the Yankees on Monday, according to a recent report published on Huffington Post. Based on the one-year contract, the New York Yankees will use Ibanez as a left-handed designated hitter and his overall income will amount to $4 million with the incentives that he will receive during the season.

The baseball team managed to narrow down the selection to three participants, but they favored Ibanez over the other two player because he has the skills that the Yankees need right now. In their opinion, the left-handed hitter can also play defense. As a consequence, they kept Ibanez and let Johnny Damon go.

The money that the 39-year-old baseball player will receive comes from a deal that the baseball team signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates a while ago. The Yankees were looking for a designated hitter, but stopped the search when they signed the trade that sent right-hander A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh team for two marginal prospects. New York received $5 million in exchange of Burnett and part of the money will now be used to pay Ibanez’s salary.

Analysts think the left-handed hitter has all the necessary skills to help the Yankees maintain the strong position they obtained last year. As a matter of fact, Raul hit .256 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs against righties in 2012 for the Phillies. Even though he is very good at defeating left-handers, Ibanez has to improve his skills when it comes to playing against right-handers.

Fans were able to watch the 39-year-old hitter play as an outfielder for Philadelphia during the last three seasons. He confessed that he expected to be named designated hitter against right-handed starting pitchers.

Bad mouths claim that the Yankees shouldn’t have signed a deal with a baseball player who will soon turn 40 and thus, head towards retirement. In their opinion, the team might have chosen him over other players because the deal was more convenient in respect to what other sportsmen requested. There is a chance, however, that Ibanez will improve his hitting skills before he makes his retirement from baseball.