Yankees Acquire Hinske

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Eric Hinske • xavier nady • Yankees Acquire Hinske • Yankees and Pirates Trade Again

In apparent attempt to strengthen their bench, and possibly a sign of other moves to come, the Yankees have acquired utility man Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In return, the Pirates received minor leaguers Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson.

Hinske was hitting .255 with 1 HR and 11 RBI in 54 games this season. The soon to be 32-yr old was rookie of the year with the Blue Jays in 2002, but his career has been in decline since. He’s also spent time with the Red Sox and Rays. Originally a 3rd baseman, Hinske has been used at 1st base and right field since.

It’s a curious acquisition, considering Xavier Nady gave the Yankees a solid right-handed bat and a pretty good defensive player. Hinske is neither of those. The Yankees didn’t really need another left-handed bat.

Joel Sherman has much more on the deal and the potential ramifications.

Tampa Fryers Lakeland

Okay, we are definitely getting corny (cornier) as the day goes on. Eric Fryer (to quote A-Rod, "HA!") had three hits and two RBI to lead the Tampa Yankees over the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Monday, 4-2.

Singles by Addison Maruszak and Fryer, who also stole his third base of the season, snapped a 2-2 in the sixth inning. Noel Castillo picked up the win in relief of Lance Pendleton, who pitched very well, and Jonathan Hovis earned his first save of the season.

April 13, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lakeland 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 1 Tampa 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 X 4 12 1 W: N. Castillo (1-0, 2.08); L: T. Feeney (0-1, 9.00); SV: J. Hovis (1) HR: None.

Wright Takes Flight

The Yankees designated Chase Wright for assignment when they signed Andy Pettitte, and today they traded the left-hander to the Milwaukee Brewers for Eric Fryer.

Fryer is a 23-yr old outfielder/catcher who played last season at West Virginia of the Class 'A' South Atlantic League. He lead the league with a .335 batting average as well as a .407 on-base perecentage. Fryer's .506 slugging pct. was third best in the SAL.

Milwaukee selected Fryer from Ohio State in the 10th round of the 2007 amateur draft. He'll be assigned to Single-A Tampa.

For Wright, it's a new beginning. After a rocky major league stint in 2007, he was 10-3 last year, primary pitching for Scranton and Trenton.

In odder news, the Brewers also signed former Yankee pitcher Ramiro Mendoza to a minor league deal. 'dozer hasn't been in the majors since '05.