Yankees reportedly trade for reliever

From Barry Svrluga:

A source with knowledge of the situation said the Nationals traded reliever Jonathan Albaladejo to the New York Yankees in exchange for right-hander Tyler Clippard, pending physical examinations of both players. The 22-year-old, who went 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA filling in for the Yankees this year, has a 3.52 ERA over five minor league seasons. He should immediately be a contender for Washington's rotation. Bowden did not return messages seeking comment on the deal. (Washington Post)

Albaladejo went 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 14 1-3 innings, striking out 12 and walking two in the process in 14 relief appearances.

The Yankees need bullpen help, so this looks like a step in the right direction.

Thanks to River Ave. Blues for digging this up.

Chamberlain and Kennedy promoted to AAA

The Yankees last night promoted right-handers Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain -- their top two draft picks last year -- from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Both started the season with Class A Tampa.

There is some thought in the organization that Chamberlain could help the big-league team this year out of the bullpen.

Lefty Chase Wright and right-hander Tyler Clippard, both of whom made starts for the Yankees this year, were demoted from Scranton to Trenton (source).

Both promotions seem deserved. Kennedy is 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 48 2-3 innings pitched in AA Trenton. He has struck out 57 and walked 17. Chamberlain is 4-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 39 1-3 innings pitched in Trenton as well. He has struck out 64 and walked 15.

It's also interesting to see Wright and Clippard demoted. It really shows how their promotions to the Majors earlier this season were panic moves.

I'd prefer that they don't call up Chamberlain this season to be used in the bullpen, and it looks like they won't.

Roster moves

Just because Roger Clemens gets to skip road trips doesn't mean the Yankees can carry more than 25 players on the active roster.

In calling up Clemens from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees sent down reliever Chris "Great" Britton. To make room for Clemens on the 40-man roster, they moved pitcher Phil Hughes from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL (source).

"That was a tough decision," manager Joe Torre said. "We just felt Sean Henn seems to be improving. He's probably closer to the long man that we want."

I can understand Torre wanting a long man, but Great Britton has been effective this year in an extremely small sample size. He deserves a shot to prove himself as a viable option out of the bullpen. He is certainly better than Kyle Farnsworth or Luis Vizcaino, and his numbers in AAA prove it (23 innings, 20 H, 2 ER, 9 BB, 26 K, 0.78 ERA), but I digress.

It's really a shame about Hughes. With Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Clemens, and Tyler Clippard, the Yankees have the best rotation they've had in years. However, I would have loved to have seen what Hughes could really do this year. His hamstring injury was very sad and painful to watch. Hopefully it doesn't set back his development.