The Yankees have designated catcher Chad Moeller for assignment. This was a ripple effect move starting with the trade for Ivan Rodriguez. Moeller played in 32 games for the Yanks this season and he was 17 for 75 (.227 avg, .643 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. The Yankees probably hope that Moeller will accept a minor league assignment so he can be an insurance policy. The Yankees have recalled Chris Britton to take Farnsworth’s spot in the bullpen. Britton has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.

The Yankees couldn’t resist fleecing another team before the trade deadline so they moved 25-year old shortstop Alberto Gonzalez to the Nationals for righty pitcher Jhonny Nunez. Gonzalez didn’t have much of a future in New York behind Derek Jeter at shortstop so trading him made perfect sense. Gonzalez played in 28 games for the Yankees this season and he was 9 for 52 (.173 avg, .444 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. He played in 40 games in his career with the Yanks and he was 10 for 66 (.152 avg, .393 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 2 RBIs. In other words, he was nothing to get excited about.

22-year old righthander Jhonny Nunez was the Nationals’ #25 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 26 games (17 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 2-8 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Nunez has whiffed 90 batters in only 89 minor league innings this season showing what kind of stuff he has. The Yankees have won on all three trades they have made in the last week.

The Yankees have traded 35-year old righty relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for 22-year old 2B Matt Cusick. Hawkins has been awful for the Yanks this season as he pitched in 33 games (0 starts) and he was 1-1 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Yanks won’t miss him one bit. The Yanks actually got a semi-decent prospect for him in lefty swinging 2B Matt Cusick. Cusick was the #29 prospect in the Astros’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 93 games in A-ball this season and he was 99 for 348 (.284 avg, .811 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. This was a good trade for the Yanks.

The Yankees have acquired 36-year old catcher Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers for righty relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. This was a no-brainer move for the Yankees who needed a catcher due to Jorge Posada’s year ending injury. Rodriguez has played in 82 games for the Tigers this season and he was 89 for 302 (.295 avg, .755 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Rodriguez should fit right in with the Yankees and he should really help them on defense as he still has a howitzer attached to his right shoulder. Rodriguez has now played in 2,234 games in his major league career and he is 2,584 for 8,549 (.302 avg, .817 OPS) with 1,242 runs scored, 293 homers, 1,214 RBIs and 120 stolen bases. The Yankees like to collect Hall of Fame players for the stretch run and Rodriguez definately qualifies.

The Yanks shouldn’t miss Kyle Farnsworth too much as a few of their own youngsters should be able to handle some late work. Farnsworth pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This was a good move for the Yankees but they aren’t likely done dealing yet as they are still in the market for a starting pitcher.

Robinson Cano started slowly again this season as usual which has caused his overall numbers to not look that impressive. He has played in 102 games this season for the Yankees and he is 103 for 385 (.268 avg, .703 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 9 homers and 48 RBIs. Cano has really been hot this month for the Yankees as he is 30 for 83 (.361 avg, .945 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 15 RBIs. Cano is hot this month but he’s played pretty well since the beginning of May. From May until today Cano is 87 for 279 (.312 avg) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers and 41 RBIs. Expect Cano to stay hot and the Yankees need him to keep it up now that they are without Jorge Posada for the rest of the season.

Jorge Posada will miss the remainder of the season as he will undergo surgery to his right shoulder soon. He was never really right this season even when he did play. The Yankees probably will scour the market for a trade for a catcher before Thursday’s trading deadline. A lot of catchers would be upgrades on Jose Molina and Chad Moeller but it will depend on what the Yanks are willing to give up. If they want to make a significant move at catcher then Gerald Laird of Texas and Ramon Hernandez of Baltimore would be the likely targets. If the Yanks want to go a less expensive route prospect wise then Paul LoDuca (Nationals), Miguel Olivo (Royals), Yorvit Torrealba (Rockies) and Gregg Zaun (Blue Jays) all make sense. A darkhorse here would be Kenji Johjima of the Mariners as they might want to unload him with Jeff Clement waiting to take over at catcher in the near future. Maybe the Yanks can expand the negotiations for Jarrod Washburn to include Johjima as well.

Getting two players the caliber of Nady and Marte and not giving up much for them caused the Yanks to make some roster moves costing some players their jobs. Righty reliever LaTroy Hawkins has been designated for assignment by the Yankees. This is a good thing for them as he stunk it up for them this season. He pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he was 1-1 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Yankees then outrighted lefty starting pitcher Kei Igawa to AAA ball essentially admitting that he stinks. The Yanks should have never signed him after losing out on Daisuke Matsuzaka because Igawa was even worse than Hideki Irabu was and I didn’t think that would have been possible. Igawa pitched in 2 games (1 start) for the Yankees this season and he was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.25 WHIP. He allowed an alarming 13 hits in only 4 innings for the Yanks this season. Igawa has now pitched in 16 games (13 starts) for the Yanks in his major league career and he is 2-4 with a 6.66 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The Yankees also have demoted outfielder Brett Gardner who looked really overmatched in the big leagues. Gardner played in 17 games for the Yankees this season and he was 9 for 59 (.153 avg, .396 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

The Yankees have acquired 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Xavier Nady and 33-year old lefty reliever Damaso Marte from the Pirates for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens. This was a great move for the Yanks as only Tabata was one of the better prospects that they have. Nady will play DH and LF for the Yanks playing everyday. He will be essentially replacing Hideki Matsui who could miss the remainder of the season. Nady played in 89 games for the Pirates this season and he was 108 for 327 (.330 avg, .918 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 13 homers and 57 RBIs. Nady could fall off a little bit in production as he has never played anywhere near this well in his career to date. Nady has now played in 612 games in his major league career and he is 563 for 2,001 (.281 avg, .793 OPS) with 260 runs scored, 75 homers, 283 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Damaso Marte will give the Yanks a shutdown lefty reliever who can work late in games. He has pitched in 47 games for the Pirates this season and he was 4-0 with 5 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Marte has whiffed 47 batters in 46.2 innings this season for the Bucs which shows how nasty his stuff can be. Marte has now pitched in 494 games in his major league career and he is 21-21 with 36 saves, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has whiffed 484 batters in 454.1 career innings which shows how dominating he can be.

The Yanks got two really solid players for no one that they projected to contribute for them in the near future. 19-year old righty swinging outfielder Jose Tabata was the #3 prospect in the Yanks’ system heading into this season according to Baseball America. But, he struggled in AA ball this season before his season ended early due to injury. Tabata played in 79 games in AA ball this season and he is 73 for 294 (.248 avg, .630 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 3 homers, 36 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. 25-year old righty Ross Ohlendorf did not pitch too well for the Yanks this season as he worked in 24 games out of the bullpen and he was 1-1 with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff McCutchen was the Yanks’ #14 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has started 20 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 8-9 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has whiffed 110 batters in 123.1 innings in the minors this season. 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Karstens has started 12 games in AAA ball this season and he is 6-4 with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Karstens has also pitched in 15 games (9 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-5 with a 5.65 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

The Pirates were hard up for prospects and the Yankees took advantage of the situation. The Yanks didn’t give up too much in this trade which means they should be able to get another starting pitcher and possibly a catcher too.

The Yankees have placed catcher Jorge Posada on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder problem that could require surgery which would end his season. Posada has not been himself this season as he has played hurt all year long. Posada has played in 51 games for the Yankees this season and he is 45 for 168 (.268 avg, .775 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 22 RBIs. Jose Molina will likely handle the starting job while Posada is out. He has a great throwing arm but he just doesn’t hit too well. Molina has played in 62 games this season for the Yankees and he is 40 for 176 (.227 avg, .573 OPS) with 16 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Chad Moeller will assume the top backup job for the Yanks. He has played in 27 games for the Yanks this season and he is 16 for 67 (.239 avg, .687 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. Look for the Yankees to be in the hunt for a catcher over the next week and a half. Still, the need isn’t urgent as the Yanks have an offense that can carry catchers that hit like Molina and Moeller as long as they play well on defense.

The Yankees have signed 1B Richie Sexson to a contract for the remainder of the season. The 33-year old righty swinging Sexson was having a rough season in Seattle before his release last week. He played in 74 games for the Mariners this season and he was 55 for 252 (.218 avg, .696 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 11 homers and 30 RBIs. The Yanks will likely only use Sexson against lefty starting pitching which he has mashed all season long. Sexson is 21 for 61 (.344 avg, 1.046 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs against lefties this year. Sexson has now played in 1,345 games in his major league career and he is 1,279 for 4,900 (.261 avg, .852 OPS) with 746 runs scored, 305 homers and 937 RBIs. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Yankees.