I liked the Berkman and Kearns acquisitions a whole lot more than this last one:

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 righty, 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, 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.

OK, the only true cost was cash and clearly the Yanks have enough free cash to toss $1.5 million at a pitcher who throws hard but carries a poor injury history and a recent spotty performance history. If his name wasn’t Kerry Wood, would we even be remotely excited? This is a guy fresh of the DL with just 20 IP this season. He’s got a nice K rate but a lousy BB rate, which sounds like some of the current Yankee bullpen staff. The team loses essentially nothing if he flops -aside from cash- so for the most part, it’s a riskless transaction. That doesn’t mean it’s a good one.

Maybe Wood will form a three-headed monster with Joba and Robertson to successfully bridge to Mo, or as I fear, he will simply be an expensive accelerant. He still carries a strong reputation from his early Cubs days, but that pitcher is long gone by this point. What we have now is just another reliever with a big, fat (6.30) ERA (5.21 FIP, 5.04 xFIP), who has control problems and a high home run rate. Sounds like the guy the team just DFA’d to make room for Wood.

Meh.

(click “view full post” for some Park vs. Wood comparisons)

Yeah, some of you took exception to my Chan Ho bashing the other day, but I’m laughing last (Twitter link):

Yankees have designated Chan Ho Park for assignment; optioned Colin Curtis & Juan Miranda to AAA

The Curtis and Miranda news is not surprising as I mentioned it earlier today.

There’s something eminently wonderful about the Yanks trading for a star player AND the other team kicking in millions in “salary relief” and taking only marginal prospects back in return:

Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman has waived his no-trade clause and a deal is in place to move him to the New York Yankees, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney on Friday.

The Berkman deal likely will be completed before Saturday’s trade deadline. The Astros will pick up $4 million of the $7 million owed to Berkman this year and in his 2011 option, sources said.

The Yankees will send two prospects to the Astros: reliever Mark Melancon and infielder Jimmy Paredes.

The Yanks get the Big Puma to serve as the primary DH the rest of the season, also giving Teixeira a day off (the field) every so often. Berkman is due about $7 million for the rest of 2010 and has a large $15 million option for 2012 or a $2 million parting gift. And, in the Yanks favor, Berkman has asked that that option NOT get picked up, making him just a rental. Even better. The Steinbrenner family purportedly gave approval to expand the payroll (limits, what limits?) to accomodate lodging for the Big Puma.

What’s going to be interesting is if Posada’s knees continue to act up, keeping him from behind the plate. That DH role is going to be a crowded one, but with Berkman another switch hitter, this lineup is all the more imposing. Berkman, Posada, Swisher, Teixeira…all switch hitters. Guessing Berkman or Swisher will be batting second or sixth going forward.

Now it’s true that Berkman has been sliding the last few years and was not very good for the first half of this season, but like his first base counterpart Teixeira, he’s been heating up the last few weeks.

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