The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox have reportedly agreed on a trade that will send pitcher Javier Vazquez to the World Series champions.
Vazquez, who spent one year with Arizona after being acquired from the New York Yankees in the Randy Johnson deal, had requested a trade to a city closer to his off-season home in Puerto Rico.
According to the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks and White Sox agreed to the trade on Tuesday night. The paper said the Diamondbacks would receive veteran pitcher Orlando Hernandez and outfield prospect Chris Young, while the Chicago Tribune added that reliever Luis Vizcaino would also head to the desert as part of the deal.
Vazquez, since he was traded by the Yankees in the middle of a multi-year contract, had the right to ask for another deal. He is scheduled to make $24 million over the next two seasons.
The 29-year-old righthander was 11-15 with a 4.42 earned run average in 33 starts for Arizona in 2005. He was 7-4 in his first 14 starts, but went 4-11 in his last 19.
Vazquez pitched six seasons with Montreal, then was traded to the Yankees in December of 2003 and signed a four-year contract. He has a career record of 89-93 with a 4.28 ERA.
Hernandez, another ex-Yankee, was 9-9 with a 5.12 ERA for the White Sox last season and spent time on the disabled list with shoulder trouble. He pitched six seasons with the Yankees before signing a two-year deal with Chicago prior to the 2005 campaign.
The native of Cuba, said to be anywhere from 36 to 40 years of age, has a career mark of 70-49 with 4.11 ERA. He has also been a dominant force in the post-season, and proved it again last October with a remarkable effort in Game 3 of the Division Series against Boston when he came out of the bullpen in a one-run game with no outs and the bases loaded and retired Jason Varitek, Tony Graffanino and Johnny Damon without allowing a run.
Young, just 22, batted .277 with 26 home runs, 77 runs batted in, 41 doubles and 32 stolen bases for Double-A Birmingham last season.
Vizcaino, 31, was 6-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 65 relief appearances for the White Sox last season. He has also pitched for Oakland and Milwaukee in his seven- year big league career.