NEW YORK, 18 December 2004 — According to a published report, the New York Yankees have finally landed ace lefthander Randy Johnson. New York Newsday reported Thursday night on its Web Site that the Yankees have agreed in principle to send pitcher Javier Vazquez to Arizona and a pair of minor league prospects to Los Angeles in exchange for Johnson.
The Dodgers would then send outfielder-first baseman Shawn Green, and pitchers Brad Penny and Yhency Brazoban to the Diamondbacks to complete the deal.
According to the paper, a few details need to be worked out, but those obstacles are not big enough to “kill the deal.”
Newsday, which is citing an unidentified Arizona source, also said that Johnson will receive a contract extension from the Yankees once the deal is done.
The minor leaguers the Yankees are reportedly sending to the Dodgers are catcher Dioner Navarro and third baseman Eric Duncan.
Johnson was at the top of the Yankees wish list coming into this offseason after the team lost to the Boston Red Sox in seven games of the American League Championship Series. New York became the first team in MLB history to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven set.
Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner, went 16-14 with a 2.60 ERA in 35 starts this past season for Arizona, which finished a major-league worst 51-111. He tossed a perfect game against the Braves and finished second in Cy Young voting despite the near-.500 record.
For his career, Johnson is 246-128 with a 3.07 ERA in 479 starts over 16 seasons. He has won 20 games or more in a season three times and was named co- MVP of the 2001 World Series when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in seven games. He also has 4,161 strikeouts for his career, ranking him first among lefthanders all-time.
Vazquez had a sub-par season in the Bronx this past year, posting just a 14-10 record with a 4.91 ERA in 32 starts. He came on in relief in Game 7 of the ALCS versus Boston and his first offering was crushed by Johnny Damon into the seats for a grand slam. New York had hoped he would blossom into the team’s ace of the future, but that clearly didn’t happen and the team decided he was expendable.
Green, who could be considered the second biggest name in this deal, hit .266 with 28 homers and 86 RBI last year. He has 281 homers and 885 RBI in 11 big league seasons.
Penny was acquired from Florida at the trade deadline last season by the Dodgers. It was believed at the time that Los Angeles made the deal only to send him directly to Arizona for Johnson. That, however, didn’t happen. Penny went 9-10 with a 3.15 ERA in 24 starts with the Marlins and Dodgers last season. He suffered a season-ending arm injury at the tail end of the campaign and went only 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in three starts with the Dodgers.
