The Yankees have acquired 1B/3B/OF Eric Hinske from the Pirates for C/OF Eric Fryer and righty pitcher Casey Erickson. The 31-year old lefty swinging Hinske’s biggest job will be filling in for A-Rod when he needs a day off. Hinske played in 54 games for the Pirates this season and he was 27 for 106 (.255 avg, .741 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. Hinske has now played in 957 games in his major league career and he is 766 for 3,012 (.254 avg, .773 OPS) with 463 runs scored, 106 homers, 410 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. 23-year old righty swinging Eric Fryer has played in 59 games in A-ball for the Yankees this season and he was 56 for 224 (.250 avg, .677 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 2 homers, 24 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. 23-year old Casey Erickson pitched in 21 games (3 starts) in A-ball this season for the Yanks and he was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Erickson allowed 51 hits in 44 innings so far this season while whiffing 37 batters. Erickson is the better prospect of these two guys but neither of them were considered Top-30 prospects by Baseball America coming into this season.

Xavier Nady tried to rehab his elbow but in the end he will need Tommy John Surgery which will end his 2009 season. Nady played in 7 games for the Yanks this season and he was 8 for 28 (.286 avg, .739 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner now become very important for the Yanks the rest of the season.

The Yankees have designated 28-year old righty reliever Jose Veras for assignment. Veras has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. In parts of four seasons with the Yanks, Veras is 8-4 with 3 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Veras won’t be missed too much if the Yankees lose him.

UPDATE: The Yankees have traded Jose Veras to the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations.

The Yankees have sold 28-year old switch hitting outfielder Todd Linden to the Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan. Linden played in 60 games in AAA-ball this season for the Yanks and he was 74 for 237 (.312 avg, .896 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 7 homers, 42 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. This is a good chance for Linden to jump start his career as he was blocked in New York with the depth the Yankees have. Linden has played in 270 games in his major league career and he is 116 for 502 (.231 avg, .638 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. His biggest problem in his major league career was making contact as he whiffed 168 times!

2B Robinson Cano is a notorius slow starter but not this season. In 47 games with the Yankees this season Cano is 62 for 194 (.320 avg, .887 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 9 homers and 28 RBIs. With the way that the new Yankee Stadium is playing I wouldn’t be surprised if Robinson Cano gets consideration for the MVP Award this season if he can stay healthy all year. I remember when Cano was a rookie, batting coach Don Mattingly predicted a batting title in his future…could this be the season? Only time will tell.