Another Solid Move For The Highlanders

With Jorge Posada out for the rest of the season, the Yankees needed an upgrade at catcher over Jose Molina. Luckily for them, the Tigers are having bullpen issues this year.

New York got:

Ivan Rodriguez, 36 year-old C, hitting .295/.338/.417 this year. He’s making $13 MM and will be a free agent.

Detroit got:

Kyle Farnsworth, 32 year-old RHRP, 3.65 ERA in 44.3 IP this year, with 43 K’s, 17 BB’s, and 1.35 WHIP. He’s making $5.5 MM and will also be a free agent.

The Tigers solidify their pen a bit and can plug Brandon Inge in behind the plate without a major loss in production, and the Yankees will need to find some relief help somewhere but are in a better position with Pudge at catcher. Though the Yankees are picking up more salary, they’ll get two draft-picks once Rodriguez leaves at the end of the season (he’ll be a type A free agent) while Detroit may only get one (if the Farnz is only a type B). Of course, the Yankees have to offer Pudge arbitration to get those picks, and he might just accept it (which wouldn’t be that horrible for one year, since they could just move Posada to first-base). The Yankees got the better of this deal, as they likely pick up a win at very little cost and get the extra pick. The Tigers may have been able to get more from Florida, but it isn’t horrible for them. I doubt Farnsworth has an ERA below 4 for the rest of the year, though.