Yankees reshape their bullpen
Stanton and Rodriguez acquired in separate deals
By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com


Mike Stanton earned three World Series rings in his first stint with the Yankees. (Ezra Shaw /Getty Images)



• Yankees Free Agent Tracker
• Flaherty returning to the Bronx


NEW YORK -- The Yankees bolstered their bullpen on Friday, and in the process, cleared a spot in center field, potentially paving the way for the team to make a run at free agent Carlos Beltran.
New York shipped Kenny Lofton to Philadelphia, receiving right-hander Felix Rodriguez from the Phillies. The Yankees also included a little more than $1 million in the deal to help pay Lofton's $3.1 million salary.

General manager Brian Cashman said that he tried to complete the same deal with San Francisco last summer, but the Giants chose to deal Rodriguez to the Phillies for former Yankees outfielder Ricky Ledee.

"To be able to obtain a power arm that can fit nicely into our bullpen, our hope is that [Rodriguez] can be a contributor in the seventh and eighth innings in our daily attempt to get the game to Mariano Rivera," said Cashman.

Shortly after that deal was announced, the Yankees and Mets completed a trade in which the two teams swapped left-handed relievers, sending Felix Heredia to Flushing and bringing Mike Stanton back to the Bronx. The Yankees also received cash considerations to make up for the difference in salary between the two players.

ON THE MOVE
Yankees get:
Felix Rodriguez, P

Phillies get:
Kenny Lofton, CF



"Heredia struggled here this year to the point where we were looking to find an alternative," Cashman said. "He's got a great arm, but he had trouble finding the consistency. In Mike Stanton's case, we felt that opportunity was worth taking a chance on."

The Yankees also re-signed backup catcher John Flaherty on Friday, the first day that the team made any player moves this offseason.

Stanton, who pitched for the Yankees from 1997-2002, was upset with the way he was treated by the Yankees when he became a free agent after the 2002 season. The Yankees made two-year offers to Stanton, Mark Guthrie and Chris Hammond, telling all three that the first one to accept would get the contract. Hammond signed a deal with the Yankees, leaving Stanton to ink a contract across town with the Mets.

Rodriguez, 31, went 5-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 76 games for the Phillies and Giants last year, striking out 59 batters in 65 2/3 innings. After starting the season with San Francisco, where he went 3-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 53 games, he appeared in 23 games with the Phillies, going 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA. Rodriguez has made 371 appearances over the last five seasons, ranking third in the Majors during that span.




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Stanton can also be characterized as a workhorse, as his 83 appearances led the Mets in 2004 and ranked him sixth in the National League.

Stanton, 37, spoke with Cashman several times over the past two days, as he had some questions he wanted answered before waiving his no-trade clause and agreeing to the trade back to the Yankees.

"I don't think he's the same pitcher that he was in 2002, but our hope is that he can give us a better result than [Heredia] gave us this year," Cashman said. "The one thing about Mike and Felix Rodriguez is that they both take the ball whenever the manager calls for it. They never turn it down, they both want the ball a lot, and that's what you need in the 'pen."

The Yankees now have a bullpen overloaded with right-handers, including Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon, Steve Karsay, Paul Quantrill and Rodriguez. Tanyon Sturtze is unsigned, and the Yankees have until Dec. 20 to decide whether to offer him arbitration.

That leaves Stanton as the lone left-hander, though he is not a traditional left-handed specialist. That doesn't seem to be a major concern to Cashman, who pointed to Gordon and Rodriguez as righties who are more than capable of getting lefty hitters out. In fact, Rodriguez held lefties to a paltry .192 average last season, while right-handed hitters batted .278 against him.

"This is probably what you're going to see in the spring, but there's a lot of time between now and Opening Day," Cashman said. "There's power in numbers, and it's quite possible that we could go with a 12-man staff.

ON THE MOVE
Yankees get:
Mike Stanton, P

Mets get:
Felix Heredia, P



"I'm not averse to being open minded to ideas," the GM added. "If somebody comes up with a concept that we feel improves us, I'm open to making other changes."

Lofton, 37, hit .275 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in his first and only season with the Yankees, playing in 83 games.

After signing a two-year, $6.2 million deal with the Yankees last winter, Lofton found himself in Joe Torre's doghouse very quickly, complaining about his spot in the batting order during the season-opening series in Japan.

Bernie Williams got 93 starts in center field for the Yankees last season, while Lofton got just 62 starts in center for New York, spending a majority of the season's second half on the bench.

"I think everybody in New York understood that I wanted to play and I wanted to have the opportunity to go out there and perform and be a part of the team," said Lofton in a conference call with Philadelphia reporters. "I didn't really feel a part of the team because I wasn't out there as much as I wanted to be. I know I had some ability to help the team win, but my biggest thing is I want to go out there and play. Having some off days is great, but I'm the kind of guy who likes to be on the field."

Should the Yankees opt to make a run at Beltran, Williams could be moved to the designated hitter spot full-time.

"As of right now, Bernie is the everyday center fielder unless something else happens that would make us change our minds on that," Cashman said. "But the winter's not complete yet."

Cashman said that he has no other serious trade talks going on with any club. Citing Major League Baseball's tampering rules, Cashman refused to comment on this week's reports that the Yankees had dropped out of talks with Arizona Randy Johnson.

"As of right now, in terms of trade talk, I don't have any going on with anybody else," Cashman said. "But certainly there's a lot more winter left."

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As long as they get Beltran, I will be happy. Would just like end by saying, "Keep Pedro the hell out of the Bronx."