BIG TRADE Yankees acquire Pudge

NEW YORK — The Detroit Tigers traded veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for hard-throwing reliever Kyle Farnsworth Wednesday. Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star in the option year of a $50 million deal he signed with the Tigers in Feb. 2004, will step into the hole in the Yankees’ lineup created by Jorge Posada’s shoulder injury. Posada had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday and is out for the season. The 36-year-old Rodriguez, who has won the Gold Glove award 13 times, was hitting .295 with five homers in 82 games this season. Farnsworth, an inconsistent part of the Yankees’ bullpen for the past three seasons, was 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 45 games for New York. He joins a bullpen badly in need of reinforcements, three days after veteran Todd Jones was removed from the closer role in Detroit. Fernando Rodney, who has one career save, is the new closer. He came in Tuesday night in a non-save situation and gave up a run in the ninth.

Associated Press