Yankees acquire Youkilis
Ex-red Sox All-star to fill in for injured A-rod
The one-year contract for $12 million is pending a physical. A person familiar with the deal confirmed the agreement under condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.
Youkilis, who turns 34 in March, is expected to play third base while Rodriguez recovers from hip surgery. A-Rod plans to have the operation in mid-January and could be sidelined until the AllStar break or beyond.
Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs are among the Boston stars who went to New York in recent times.
An All-Star in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Youkilis won a Gold Glove at first base in 2007. He is a .283 hitter with 148 home runs in nine seasons and was on Boston teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007.
With the Yankees, Youkilis also could play first base to give Mark Teixeira a break and serve as the designated hitter.
THREE-TEAM TRADE — Cleveland traded outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati and acquired right-hander Trevor Bauer from Arizona in a three-team deal involving nine players.
Center fielder Drew Stubbs was sent from Cincinnati to Cleveland.
The Indians received Bauer, the No. 3 pick in the 2011 draft, and right-handed relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the Diamondbacks.
Cleveland shipped Choo, infielderoutfielder Jason Donald and cash to the Reds, while sending left-handed reliever Tony Sipp and first baseman Lars Anderson to Arizona. The Diamondbacks also received minor league shortstop Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati.
Choo, Cleveland’s primary right fielder since 2006, likely will play center and bat leadoff for Cincinnati.
Dealing Choo was almost a necessity for the Indians. He was entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for free agency in 2013. The Indians have not been able to work out a deal with agent Scott Boras, who has turned down several extensions in recent years.
Choo, 30, batted .283 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs in 155 games last season.
Stubbs, 28, has played center exclusively for the Reds. He batted .213 with 14 homers and 40 RBIs and struck out 166 times in 493 at-bats.
DIAMONDBACKS — Right-hander Brandon McCarthy and Arizona completed a two-year, $15.5 million contract.
Oakland’s Opening Day starter last season, McCarthy was hit in the right side of the head by a line drive off the bat of the Los Angeles Angels’ Erick Aybar on Sept. 5. The 29-year-old pitcher sustained an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture and then underwent a two-hour surgery.
Last month, the 6-foot-7-inch McCarthy spent two days undergoing extensive evaluations by a renowned concussion expert, Dr. Michael Collins, at the University of Pittsburgh. Collins cleared him to begin working out and resuming his regular offseason routine.
McCarthy was 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA last season, his sixth in the majors.
DODGERS — Los Angeles officially announced the signing of Zack Greinke to a $147 million, six-year deal that is the richest for a right-hander in history. The Dodgers beat out Texas and the Los Angeles Angels, for whom Greinke pitched last season.
Greinke’s introduction culminated a $183 million spending spree by the Dodgers in which they also signed South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin, who got a $36 million, six-year deal.
JONES TO JAPAN — The Rakuten Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League said they are set to sign veteran major league outfielder Andruw Jones.
The 35-year-old Jones became a free agent after playing for the New York Yankees the past two seasons, and the Eagles said he is expected to complete a deal after undergoing a physical.
Jones played in 94 games last season for New York, batting .197 with 14 home runs.
Jones is a five-time All-Star and has 10 Gold Gloves. He hit 434 home runs in 17 seasons in the major leagues and could provide a boost for the Eagles, whose 52 homers were the fewest in Japan last season.
Kevin Youkilis is about to get a different look at the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.
The hard-nosed Youkilis, who helped personify Boston’s championship teams over the past decade, on Tuesday became the latest former Red Sox star to switch sides and land in the Bronx. The free agent reached a deal that filled New York’s immediate need for a third baseman to fill in for injured Alex Rodriguez.
BASEBALL NOTES