It was an eventful day for most teams, then at the very last-minute the Yankees make some moves. First off something we don’t see very often, a deal between the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees. Shortstop Stephen Drew was traded for utility infielder Kelly Johnson, the Red Sox will also throw in $500,000 to get the deal done. The Yankees already have an all-star shortstop by the name of Derek Jeter, so Drew will be the new second baseman. But the fun doesn’t stop there, the Yankees acquired utility man Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks for slugging prospect C/DH Peter O’Brien and player to be named later. To make room for Prado on the roster, they designated second baseman Brian Roberts for assignment. Prado has primarily played third base this year totaling 99 games, but has also played 253 games in left field throughout his career.
For now Drew, who has never played any other position than shortstop, will be the everyday second baseman, Prado will be in right field, and Chase Headley will stay at third base. Before all this madness went down, the Yankees claimed reliever Esmil Rogers off waivers from the Blue Jays, and the team has announced that he will be in the bullpen tomorrow in Boston. Scott Sizemore was released from Scranton to make room for Rogers. Now for some numbers, Drew has been struggling offensively batting just .176/.255/.328 and .583 OPS. Prado on the other hand is a having an decent year, 270/.317/.370 with a .686 OPS. Neither player is hitting for a lot of power though, just a combined 9 home runs between the two.
Some credits: YES Network’s Jack Curry was first to report the Prado deal and ESPNBoston’s Gordon Edes broke the Drew deal.
