A-Rod Bronx Bound
Microsoft SPOT
By Jon Heyman and Ken Davidoff
Staff Writer

February 14, 2004, 3:02 PM EST

The Yankees and Rangers have an agreement in principle on a monster trade that will send superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez to New York in exchange for Alfonso Soriano, Newsday has learned.

No announcement is expected today, as a couple very minor technical details are still to be worked out. However, all sides remain confident everything will be finalized within a few days, a source said.

The Yankees are expected to send a minor-league pitcher along with Soriano to Texas to complete the deal.

The impetus for the deal was Rodriguez's surprising willingness to agree to play third base. Once Rodriguez signaled to the Yankees that he'd be willing to play third for them and defer the coveted shortstop position to Derek Jeter, a longtime friend, the talks moved very quickly.

The Yankees recently lost their starting third baseman Aaron Boone to a knee injury suffered in a pickup basketball game a month ago and have been seeking a viable replacement.

The blockbuster deal that puts Rodriguez, perhaps baseball's best all-around player, in New York, is a major blow to the rival Boston Red Sox, who spent many weeks chasing and courting Rodriguez. However, Boston's deal with Texas and A-Rod broke down when the Red Sox demanded that A-Rod and Texas both pay handsomely to offset the Rodriguez contract.

The Yankees have never let money stand in their way, and the acquisition of Rodriguez will push their payroll past $200 million. However, it is thought the Rangers have agreed to pay the Yankees some money to mitigate the drastic difference in the contracts. Rodriguez has $189 million and seven years remaining on his record $252-million deal, while Soriano is a tremendous bargain at $5.4 million this season. Soriano is ineligible for free agency until after the 2006 season.

It is believed Rodriguez also has agreed to alter the deferrals in his contract to get the deal done. It is not known how much money Rodriguez has agreed to defer.

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