The reigning World Series champion New York Yankees completed deals for Houston slugger Lance Berkman and Cleveland pitcher Kerry Wood ahead of Major League Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline on Saturday.
One deal brings the Yankees a new designated hitter and US$4 million from the Astros in exchange for relief pitcher Mark Melancon and minor leaguer Jim Paredes.
The other gives New York a 33-year-old right-handed reliever who joins Joba Chamberlain as a set-up man for superstar closing relief pitcher Mariano Rivera in exchange for money or a player to be named later.
South Korean veteran right-handed pitcher Park Chan-ho was designated for assignment to the minor leagues by the Yankees to make room for Wood, likely ending his tenure with the club.
Berkman, 34, is batting .245 with 13 home runs and 49 runs batted in with 70 strikeouts and 60 walks. He fills a hole that has nagged the Yankees when Nick Johnson went out in May with a right wrist injury.
“If there are teams that still want me to play for them, that makes me feel pretty good,” Berkman said. “I still have confidence that I could play at a high level.”
Berkman, who had to waive a no-trade clause to finalize the deal, has US$7.15 million remaining to be paid on a US$14.5 million contract, but the Astros payment means the Yankees will only pay US$3.15 million of that total.
The deal came a day after the Yankees added outfielder Austin Kearns from Cleveland, where he was hitting .272 with eight homers and 42 RBIs.
“They are both great guys,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said. “It’s going to be good for the clubhouse.”
Other playoff contenders raced Saturday afternoon’s deadline to make deals without having to waive a player, meaning they would be available to be claimed by any club.
St Louis, leading the National League Central division, obtained right-hander Jake Westbrook from struggling Cleveland and sent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to San Diego, the NL West division leaders.
Westbrook was 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA for the Indians while Ludwick batted .281 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, trailing San Diego by seven games at third in the NL West, obtained southpaw pitcher Ted Lilly from the Chicago Cubs along with Ryan Theriot and US$2.5 million in exchange for infielder Blake DeWitt and minor leaguers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach.
“We’ve been looking to improve our rotation and with Ted we feel like we’ve got a very good group of starting pitchers for the stretch run,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.
Arizona sent right-handed relief pitcher Chad Qualls to Tampa Bay and made a multi-player deal with Pittsburgh, obtaining outfielder Ryan Church in the highlight of a five-player swap.
San Francisco, second in the NL West behind San Diego, made a move as well, with the Giants obtaining 33-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Javier Lopez from Pittsburgh in exchange for pitcher Joe Martinez and outfielder John Bowker.
The Giants, seeking their first playoff berth since 2003, hope for some help from Lopez, who is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 38-and-two-thirds innings.
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