Just days after signing a contract to join the [Frontier League's Florence] Freedom for the upcoming season, former University of Cincinnati baseball star Neall French agreed to a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. ...

"We're in the player development business so we're very excited when one of our players gets a chance to further his career," said Freedom manager Jamie Keefe, who's entering his fourth season in Florence. "We were very excited about the prospect of adding a bat like Neall's to our lineup this season so we can certainly understand why the Yankees are making this move. Neall has been a part of winning teams throughout his career, and I have no doubt he'll do well for the Yankees' organization."