Yankees deal Bruney to Nationals
The Yankees and Nationals made a swap yesterday that shipped Brian Bruney to Washington.
In exchange for the right-handed reliever the Yankees will tell what player the Nats will take in the Rule 5 draft and then trade to the Yankees.
Bruney, who drew interest from several teams — the Phillies and Braves among them — is reunited with GM Mike Rizzo, who was in Arizona’s front office when Bruney was a Diamondback and has been enamored with Bruney’s power arm.
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The Phillies and Yankees talked about a deal, but the Phillies weren’t willing to part with the prospects the Yankees requested.
The Braves had an interest in Bruney but were waiting to see if the Yankees didn’t offer the right-handed reliever a contract by Dec. 12.
Bruney, 28 in February, was 5-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 44 games during a season that started with a lot of promise as Mariano Rivera’s set-up man, included two stints on the DL with a elbow problems, a public spitting match with Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, being left off the postseason roster for the first two rounds and then activated for the World Series.
After making $1.25 million last year, Bruney is eligible for arbitration.
“I am OK with it,” Bruney said of the trade. “I am pretty excited about the opportunity. I will get the opportunity to pitch late in the game and maybe close. It makes it a lot easier to leave with a World Series ring coming. Obviously, Yankees to the Nationals, I don’t think the opportunity to win the World Series is as good but it’s still baseball.”
Asked about his four-year Yankee career, Bruney said, “It was the best time of my life. I played with great people and won a World Series.”
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