With just 65 games left to play and 9 days before the no-trade deadline, the Cash Man and his gang are keenly aware that each spot on the Yanks' roster is a vital resource that cannot be wasted (like oil, or my love). We've seen many a player jump on and off that roster this year, from Tyler Clippard to poor Chase Wright, but with the exception of the signing of the Rocket, all the roster moves this year had been intra-club promotions and demotions. Now that the Yankees are playing like they might actually have a chance in hell at getting to the post-season (7.5 games out, my babies!), though, the Yanks decided that it would be in their best interest to execute a major blockbuster trade to help their cause. Unfortunately, by "major blockbuster trade", I really mean "deal that will make you scratch your head and think 'Who? Oh yeah, I've heard of him'".

While the Yankees were beating up on the bedraggled Devil Rays during Saturday's doubleheader, Big Stein was hard at work concoting a deal with the head honchos over at the Angels' headquarters, arranging for minor league pitcher Jeff Kennard to be shipped to Anaheim in exchange for backup catcher Jose Molina (brother of MLB catchers Yadier and Bengie.... I guess the family only had catching gloves to practice with?). Clearly this is not a trade on a scale as grand as the deal that brought us Roger "You Thought I Was Old Then?!" Clemens in 1999 or Alex "Texas Truly Makes The Worst Deals Ever" Rodriguez in 2004, but this little mini-trade does address one of the Yanks' primary roster concerns. Jorgie Boy is in the midst of what could end up being the best season of his career, but he is getting old (in catcher years, which are similar to dog years) and having a serviceable backup catcher available will be vital to keeping Jorgie in tip-top condition. Molina has played 70+ games in each of the last 3 seasons, so he will hopefully be able to catch a game or 2 each week to give Posada a rest, and he already knows Jorgie from playing winter ball down in Puerto Rico, so he already has an ally on the team. The only bad news about this trade is that the addition of Molina made dear little Wil Nieves obsolete, and he was DFA as soon as the deal was final. Sure, Molina's stellar .237 lifetime batting average trumps Nieves's (.161 in 63 games), but I can't imagine that Molina will be as fun to cheer for - that RBI double Wil hit on Saturday brought more smiles to the dugout than we've seen all year!