Trent is reporting that Reds outfielder Chris Denorfia has been traded to the Oakland A's, for two players to be named later and cash. And John Fay says another move is in the works.
This seems like a rather odd transaction. Deno is on the DL. The earliest he can come back is October. And whoever the Reds are getting can't be that much of a help to them now. Not if they're getting two PTBNL and cash.
One possibility is that one of the PTBNLs is Burton, the Rule 5 pitcher. Trading for him outright would let them send him to the minors and get him off the roster. But John Fay heard Burton is not involved.
FWIW, Burton was removed from the Bats' roster yesterday and sent to Chattanooga.
Meanwhile, in the Bronx...Phil Hughes had a decent debut, but lost. (To be fair, the Yanks were blanked yesterday, so there was no way he could get the win.) He wasn't lights-out, but he wasn't terrible, either. He was very nervous in the first inning. He had to throw a lot of pitches to get out of it, and since he's been on a strict pitch count, he was pulled in the fourth inning. Which didn't help the exhausted bullpen. And he couldn't blow fastballs by good major league hitters like he could against minor leaguers. Still, I think everyone is reasonably pleased with how he did. Dunno if he'll stay up with the big club all season or not; it could go either way, IMO. He will probably get at least one more start.
The Yanks play the Red Sox again this weekend, and many Yankee fans are dreading it. I think the Yankees have just been unlucky. They've lost a lot of close games. They'll turn it around. Adding Wang and Hughes to shore up the rotation should help.
And the Bats are in Syracuse, NY today, playing the Chiefs. Lot of Yankees fans in Syracuse; they'll be disappointed that Bubba is on the DL.
