The Yankees agreed to a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates that would give New York left-handed pitcher Damaso Marte and right fielder Xavier Nady in a deal first reported on Friday evening by ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.
The Pirates will receive four minor leaguers including right-handed pitcher Ross Ohlendorf, right-handed pitcher George Kontos, left-handed pitcher Phil Coke and right fielder Jose Tabata in return. The trade is tentative pending physicals.
The Yankees, with Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada on the disabled list and possibly lost for the year, needed another right-handed bat for their lefty loaded lineup.
Their all-righty bullpen has a 1.67 ERA over its last 23 games, and adding Marte gives them one of the top lefty specialists in baseball.
The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and New York Mets all were thought to be interested in Nady, who was batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs. Marte is 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings, and also was attracting interest from several teams.
Ohlendorf was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA in 25 games with the Yankees this season. He was demoted on June 27, and had a 1-1 record with a 4.03 ERA in five starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Tabata, Kontos and Coke all were with Double-A Trenton. Tabata was batting .248 with three homers and 36 RBIs entering play Friday, and Coke was 9-4 with a 2.60 ERA in 20 games, 19 starts. Kontos was 3-9 with a 3.77 ERA in 20 starts.
High-ranking Yankees officials gathered for meetings at their spring training complex Thursday. After a three-hour meeting, co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed one of the topics was indicted home run king Barry Bonds. Steinbrenner wouldn’t say if the Yankees are interested in Bonds, but it appears highly unlikely the team will pursue him after acquiring Nady.