Wood, Berkman dealt to Yanks: MLB deadline
Last Updated: Saturday, July 31, 2010 | 8:18 PM ET
The Associated Press
Kerry Wood was 1-4 with a a 6.30 ERA and eight saves in 23 relief appearances for Cleveland. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)The New York Yankees acquired pitcher Kerry Wood from the Cleveland Indians on Saturday, the third deal in less than 24 hours for the World Series champions as they beefed up for the stretch run.
Wood, a hard-throwing, 33-year-old right-hander, gives the Yankees another setup option alongside Joba Chamberlain for closer Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees sent Cleveland a player to be named or $500,000 US, and the Indians gave New York $2,172,131. New York will pay $1.5 million of the $3,672,131 remaining on Wood's $10.5-million salary this year. His contract includes an $11-million team option for 2011.
New York also finalized its deal to obtain designated hitter Lance Berkman from Houston along with $4 million for reliever Mark Melancon and minor league infielder Jimmy Paredes.
A day earlier, the Yankees obtained outfielder Austin Kearns from the Indians for a player to be named.
Wood was activated from the disabled list by the Indians on Saturday. He had been sidelined by a blister on his right index finger.
It was his second time on the DL this year. He didn't pitch until May 8 because of a strained muscle in his upper back.
Wood was 1-4 with a a 6.30 ERA and eight saves in 23 relief appearances for Cleveland.
Cleveland has until Oct. 15 to decide whether to select a player from a designated list or to take the cash.
Lilly reunited with Torre in L.A.
Joe Torre believes his Dodgers can make a playoff run with their latest upgrades.
The Los Angeles manager has a familiar face for the push: left-hander Ted Lilly.
Lilly was traded to the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs on Saturday along with infielder Ryan Theriot for infielder Blake DeWitt and minor league right-handers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach. Lilly pitched for Torre with the New York Yankees.
Los Angeles also received approximately $2.5 million to cover part of what remains in Lilly's $12 million salary. Los Angeles general manager Ned Colletti was looking to bolster his starting rotation by the trade deadline.
Third in the NL West, the Dodgers already acquired centre fielder and leadoff man Scott Podsednik from Kansas City on Wednesday. Theriot is slated to be the team's everyday second baseman, while Lilly could make his Los Angeles debut as soon as Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium against the first-place San Diego Padres.
"Hopefully it makes us better," Torre said before the Dodgers played the San Francisco Giants. "That's all you can do. I just talked to Theriot and he's excited. Hopefully Ted Lilly will give us a little more stability in our rotation. I had Teddy before and I'll tell you one thing, he's a competitor."
Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA and hasn't won since June 13. He pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings against Houston on Tuesday and has allowed four earned runs over his last 16 innings. He is eligible for free agency after the season.
Theriot has a .284 average with one homer and 21 RBIs.
The 24-year-old DeWitt, a first-round pick in the 2004 amateur draft who bats left-handed, is batting .270 with 15 doubles, one homer and 30 RBIs. He hit .295 with a triple, three doubles and six RBIs in 21 games in July.
DeWitt isn't sure what to expect with the Cubs, considering this is the first trade of his career.
"This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. It definitely comes as a little surprise," DeWitt said shortly after receiving the news. "I haven't really had time to gather my thoughts yet. … It happened. I appreciated the opportunity I had here. I had a lot of fun here and I look forward to the opportunity in Chicago."
The Dodgers also acquired reliever Octavio Dotel from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-hander James McDonald and minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo.
The well-travelled Dotel was 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 41 relief outings and 40 innings this year for the Pirates.
McDonald is 0-1 with an 8.22 ERA in four games and one start this year.
Westbrook heading to Cards
The NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals made a three-team trade Saturday, getting pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and sending outfielder Ryan Ludwick to NL West-leading San Diego.
The deal was announced about three hours before the non-waiver trading deadline.
Westbrook was scratched from his start for the Indians at Toronto. A 2004 All-Star, the 32-year-old righty was 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA in 21 starts this year. He is 69-71 overall in 10 major league seasons.
The Cardinals had been looking to boost their rotation. They signed Jeff Suppan in midseason, but he has not been able to regain his form.
The 32-year-old Ludwick broke into the majors with Texas in 2002, but did not become an everyday player until he joined up with the Cardinals. He's a career .272 hitter whose best season came in 2008, when he hit 37 homers and had 113 RBIs while becoming an All-Star.
Ludwick hit .281 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs this season for the Cardinals.
"We've been looking for a quality starting pitcher to add to our rotation for some time," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. "Westbrook is someone we've had our eyes on for a good period of time."
"We also want to wish Ryan Ludwick all the best with the Padres. He did an outstanding job for us over the past 3 1/2 seasons," he said.
The Cardinals got cash along with Westbrook from the Indians. St. Louis also acquired left-hander Nick Greenwood from San Diego. The 22-year-old Greenwood was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA at Class A Fort Wayne.
The Indians got Double-A pitcher Corey Kluber from San Diego. The 24-year-old righty was 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA at Double-A and led the Texas League in strikeouts.
KC trades Ankiel, Farnsworth to Braves
The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves have acquired outfielder Rick Ankiel, reliever Kyle Farnsworth and cash from the Kansas City Royals in a five-player deal.
Atlanta sent pitchers Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez and outfielder Gregor Blanco to Kansas City on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Ankiel hit .261 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 27 games for Kansas City.
The 34-year-old Farnsworth is 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA.
Arizona strike deals with Rays, Pirates
The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired reliever Chad Qualls from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a player to be named later.
The 31-year-old right-hander is 1-4 with 12 saves and an 8.29 ERA this season, striking out 34 and walking 15 in 38 innings, down from a career-high 24 saves last year.
The Diamondbacks also traded catcher Chris Snyder, minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Bobby Crosby, outfielder Ryan Church and right-hander D.J. Carrasco.
In a deal between two last-place teams, Pittsburgh receives a catcher who had a 240-game errorless streak end on June 6, the third-longest streak in major league history behind those of Mike Redmond and Mike Matheny. Snyder, 29, is hitting .231 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.
Ciriaco, 24, batted .259 with six homers, 51 RBIs and 14 steals at Triple-A Reno this year and was picked for the Futures game. He is expected to report to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh also recalled infielders Argenis Diaz and Jeff Clement from Indianapolis.
The 31-year-old Church was signed as a free agent in January and is hitting just .183 with three homers and 18 RBIs. His production dipped sharply after he sustained a pair of concussions in a three-month span while with the New York Mets in 2008.
Crosby, a 30-year-old infielder, also signed with the Pirates as a free agent during the offseason and hit just .224 with one homer and 11 RBIs. In 2004, he was voted the AL rookie honor after hitting .239 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs for Oakland.
Carrasco, 33, is 2-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 45 games this season, striking out 45 in 55 2-3 innings. He has a 22-18 record in 23 starts and 203 reliefs appearances in six big league seasons with Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh.
Tigers trade OF Ramirez to Braves
The Detroit Tigers have traded outfielder Wilkin Ramirez to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named or cash.
The Tigers designated Ramirez for assignment this week after getting Jhonny Peralta from the Cleveland Indians.
Ramirez hit .216 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 41 games with triple-A Toledo.
Giants pick up lefty reliever Lopez from Pirates
The San Francisco Giants have acquired Javier Lopez from the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting the left-handed reliever they were looking for at the trade deadline.
The Giants are sending right-hander Joe Martinez and outfielder John Bowker to the Pirates. San Francisco, which has missed the playoffs the past six seasons, began the day 2½ games back of the first-place San Diego Padres in the NL West.
The 33-year-old Lopez is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 50 appearances and 38 2-3 innings this season.
Martinez was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
BoSox trade for catcher Saltalamacchia
The Boston Red Sox have acquired catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers, a player to be named and cash.
In other moves, the Red Sox sent reliever Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants for pitching prospect Daniel Turpen. Boston also designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment and selected outfielder Ryan Kalish from Triple-A Pawtucket. Left-hander Dustin Richardson was also recalled from Pawtucket on Saturday.
Saltalamacchia was optioned to Triple-A. He has played in just two games for the Rangers this season, going 1-for-5.
Orioles send Ohman to Marlins for VandenHurk
The Baltimore Orioles have traded left-hander Will Ohman to the Florida Marlins for right-hander Rick VandenHurk.
VandenHurk was optioned to triple-A Norfolk after Saturday's trade, and third baseman Josh Bell was recalled from the Tides.
The 32-year-old Ohman was 0-0 with a 3.30 ERA in 51 appearances during his first season with the Orioles.
VandenHurk, 25, allowed one earned run in 1 1-3 innings and two games for Florida, and he was 8-4 with a 4.68 ERA in 98 innings for triple-A New Orleans with 87 strikeouts.
