PHILADELPHIA – A person familiar with the trade says the Philadelphia Phillies have acquired seven-time All-Star infielder Michael Young from the Texas Rangers for two relief pitchers.
Young agreed to waive his no-trade clause Saturday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. The Phillies are sending right-hander Josh Lindblom and minor league righty Lisalverto Bonilla to the Rangers to get Young, who fills a void at third base. The Rangers also will pay a significant portion of Young’s salary for 2013. Young is due to earn $16 million. Reports say the Phillies will pay him about $6 million.
Young batted .277 with eight homers and 67 RBI in 2012, a down year for him. In the nine previous seasons, Young hit at least .300 seven times and averaged 17 homers and 90 RBI. A former AL Gold Glove winner at shortstop, Young hasn’t play third base regularly since 2010.
After surgery, A-Rod to savor comeback
Alex Rodriguez went to see doctors with hopes of finding something wrong. When they actually located a problem, only then did he start feeling a bit better.
The New York Yankees’ third baseman said Saturday that not only are plans set for him to have surgery on his left hip in mid-January, but that he’s also eager to embrace the challenge of coming back from both the operation and an unbelievably abysmal finish to last season. It’s expected that Rodriguez, who will be making his sixth trip to the disabled list in six seasons, could be sidelined until the All-Star break.
“I’m not concerned,” Rodriguez told The Associated Press. “I’m actually, in many ways, relieved that there’s something tangible that we can go fix.”
Around the league
A person familiar with the deal says that free agent outfielder Ryan Ludwick is returning to Cincinnati with a two-year contract worth $15 million. Ludwick hit .275 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI while helping Cincinnati win the NL Central this past season. … Seattle finalized a one-year contract with outfielder Jason Bay that was agreed upon last week. Bay hit just 26 homers and played in only 288 games in his three seasons in New York due to injuries.
