The obligatory fantasy spin: Pudge to the Yankees, Farnsworth to Detroit
Ivan Rodriguez moves to a slightly less-productive lineup, Kyle Farnsworth joins a bullpen where he might actually belong in the closer discussion, and presumably Brandon Inge will handle the catching duties in Detroit full-time.
Inge still isn't worth owning in mixed leagues, though. He's a career .240/.305/.397 hitter, and he's 31 years old.
Many fantasy owners will probably pick up Rodriguez because of his Yankeeness, but Farnsworth seems more interesting, at least if you're in the market for saves. Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya have each given up runs in their last two outings, and Zumaya has recently dealt with triceps tightness.
Farnsworth has a 3.65 ERA and 43 Ks in 44.1 innings. You'll recall that he saved a few games back in 2005. If you're adding anyone here, it's him.
Heck, if you've chased guys like Isringhausen and Yates in recent days, adding Farnsworth might actually feel good.
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And another thing: Perhaps we should note for the record that yes, this seems like a fine deal for New York. For fantasy purposes, however, Rodriguez remains a bottom-of-the-order hitter in a good lineup.
