Rays deal Delmon Young to Minnesota in a six-player trade

Published 8:47 pm Wednesday, November 28, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS — Delmon Young was traded by Tampa Bay to Minnesota on Wednesday night as part of a six-player deal that sent right-hander Matt Garza to the Rays.

In a swap of talented youngsters, the Twins also gave up starting shortstop Jason Bartlett and minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan while acquiring shortstop Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.

After losing All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter to a $90 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, the Twins were in dire need of another proven outfielder. Young, runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year, batted .288 with 13 homers and 93 runs batted in in his first full major league season. He also had 38 doubles and 10 steals and should provide a boost to a lineup that was lagging this season.

Garza gives the Rays, who have always been in need of help for their rotation, a legitimate starter. One of the game’s top prospects, Garza went 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 16 appearances, 15 starts, for Minnesota after he was called up right before the All-Star break.

RED SOX: Jon Lester, who came back from a cancer diagnosis in 2006 to win this year’s World Series clincher for Boston, was honored Wednesday with the Pacific League’s Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity through spirit, determination and courage.

The 23-year-old pitcher was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August 2006. After cancer treatment during the offseason, he started the year on the disabled list. Lester was recalled in July and finished the regular season 4-0 with a 4.57 earned-run average.

Lester is cancer free and will have another checkup when he returns to Boston in January to receive the award.

“It’s just a storybook-type ending,” he said. “If you’d have told me that at the end of last year in spring training, that we would have been in that situation, I probably would have laughed at you.”

The award, which will be presented at the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America dinner on Jan. 17, is named for the promising Red Sox player whose career was derailed when he was hit in the face by a pitch in 1967.

WHITE SOX: Relief pitcher Scott Linebrink and the Chicago White Sox finalized their $19 million, four-year contract Wednesday. The right-hander will move into the setup role that was such a problem for the Sox this past season. Linebrink, 31, was 5-6 with a 3.71 ERA last season with San Diego and Milwaukee.

Chicago’s bullpen struggled, especially in the seventh and eighth innings. The White Sox bullpen blew 23 saves, had a 19-25 record and an ERA of 5.49.

ROYALS: Relief pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta has agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with Kansas City and will compete for a spot as the team’s primary setup man. A 34-year-old right-hander, Yabuta spent 12 seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League. Trey Hillman, who spent the past five years managing the Nippon Ham Fighters before being hired last month by the Royals, was helpful in persuading Yabuta to come to Kansas City. Yabuta has a 44-59 career record with nine saves and a 4.03 ERA in 343 appearances, including 86 starts. He was 4-6 with four saves and a 2.73 ERA in 58 relief outings this past season.

INDIANS: Injuries sustained by Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Juan Lara in a weekend car accident make it too dangerous to move him to the United States for treatment, a team spokesman said Wednesday. The 26-year-old left-hander, who remains hospitalized in critical condition, suffered a fractured spine, severe brain trauma, two broken ribs and a punctured lung in the crash Saturday night in the Dominican Republic.

BREWERS: Catcher Jason Kendall was guaranteed $4.25 million under the one-year contract he and the Milwaukee Brewers finalized Wednesday. In addition to his base salary, Kendall can earn $1 million in performance bonuses next year. Kendall hit .270 with 19 runs batted in in 57 games with the Chicago Cubs this year after a midseason trade from Oakland. Before the deal, he batted .226 with 33 RBI for the Athletics.

REDS: Free-agent closer Francisco Cordero finalized a $46 million, four-year contract Wednesday with the Reds, an expensive fix for Cincinnati’s major weakness.

The 32-year-old right-hander was second in the National League with 44 saves and a 2.98 earned-run average for Milwaukee in 2007. The All-Star joins a bullpen that had 34 saves and a league-worst 5.13 ERA.

Cordero struck out 86 batters in 631/3 innings and had an 0-4 record in 2007. In 2006, he was 3-1 with 16 saves and a 1.69 ERA for Milwaukee, which obtained him in late July in a six-player trade that sent outfielder Carlos Lee to Texas.

CARDINALS: St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, eight months after police found him asleep inside his running sport utility vehicle at a stop light in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never occur again,” La Russa said in a statement released by his attorney, David Roth. La Russa did not appear in court to plead guilty.

As part of his plea agreement, La Russa will serve at least six months’ probation, pay a $678.50 fine, complete DUI school and complete 50 hours of community service, state prosecutors said.

METS: Reliever Brian Stokes was acquired Wednesday by the New York Mets from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash. The 28-year-old right-hander was 2-7 with a 7.07 ERA in 59 games for Tampa Bay last season, allowing 49 runs and 90 hits in 621/3 innings.