KINGSTON, N.Y. — Former Kingston High baseball star Zack Short has signed a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees and will try to earn a spot on the roster of baseball’s most storied franchise at spring training.

If the 30-year-old Short makes the big-league roster out of spring training, he will be playing at Yankee Stadium about 80 miles from his native Kingston. The Yankees have won a record 27 World Series championships.

A 2013 Kingston High graduate, Short has batted .172 in 506 plate appearances in the majors for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.

Short has become a very versatile infielder in his five-year career in the major leagues. His experience at shortstop could come in handy for the Yankees with Anthony Volpe expected to miss the beginning part of the 2026 season.

Volpe played through a shoulder injury for most of the 2025 season and had surgery in the offseason. The Yankee shortstop underwent a procedure following the end of the season to repair a partially torn labrum, and manager Aaron Boone said in October that Volpe likely won’t be ready for the start of the season.

A message left on Short’s cellphone on Friday, Dec. 19 was not returned.

After playing 177 games for the Detroit Tigers from 2021-23, Short was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets and made the National League team’s opening day roster. He said the Mets were his favorite team when he was growing up.

In 10 games for the Mets, Short went 1-for-9 (.111) with two walks. On April 26, 2024, Short was designated for assignment to make room for J.D. Martinez on the roster.

The Mets traded Short to the Boston Red Sox on May 1, 2024 in exchange for cash considerations. After playing two games for the Red Sox, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves on May 9, 2024, in exchange for cash considerations.

In 30 games with the Braves, Short batted .148 with five RBIs. Short was eventually sent down to the Braves’ Triple-A franchise where he finished out the season.

Short elected free agency at the end of the 2024 campaign and signed a minor-league contract with the Houston Astros on Jan. 7, 2025. He spent most of the year at the Astros’ Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ franchise, but was called up to the majors on July 2 when starting shortstop Jeremy Pena suffered a fractured rib on June 27.

Short, who started mainly at shortstop, played 22 games for the Astros, hitting .220 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Short had some special moments while with the Astros, including hitting a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Houston a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on July 12. The big hit snapped a four-game losing streak for the Astros, and Short was mobbed by his teammates after his game-winner.

But Short’s run in the majors at Houston ended this past season when the Astros called up Pena on July 31 after he finished rehabbing his injury. Short was sent down to Sugar Land, where he finished the season batting .200 in 112 games with 15 homers, 18 doubles and 46 runs batted in.

Short said in an interview with the Freeman on Oct. 27 that it was a “gut punch” when he learned that the Astros had reacquired former All-Star Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline on July 31 to play third base and shortstop. The move left little room on the roster for Short, who also played the same positions.

“You could sign right now,” Short said after competing in a pro-am at the Swan Country Club in Saugerties. “But I’m kind of in a spot where I have to wait and see where the bigger names go, and I’ll see what jobs open up. The rosters change every day. We’ll see what comes to us and then make a decision from there.”

Sources recently told the Freeman that Short was mulling over several offers from major league franchises.

The good news figures to be a nice Christmas present for Short and his wife, Fallon, and all the Short supporters in the area who will be itching to spend some time watching him play for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.