The Yankees signed Chan Ho Park to a $1.2 million contract Sunday night. Park will strictly be a reliever:

Essentially, the Yankees had $2 million remaining in their budget when Randy Winn was signed for a $1.1 million. But as Park’s price kept falling, Yankees GM Brian Cashman continued to lobby ownership to expand the payroll because the organization viewed Park as one of the top relievers on the market.

And when the price fell further over the course of the week, from $1.5 million to $1.2 million, Yankees ownership finally approved the signing. Park had rejected a $3.25 million offer to stay in Philadelphia in the middle of the offseason, and his price has been steadily falling since then. The Cubs were among the teams hoping to sign him recently.

I am not a big Chan Ho Park fan, but over the last two season he’s pitched much better as a reliever than a starter. He doesn’t give up the long ball as much in relief, probably because he doesn’t get a chance to tire. In general, however, he does walk a lot of batters with a good but not outstanding strikeout rate. I’m guessing his role will be middle relief and mop up duty, and given the price, it’s a good signing.