INDIANS Drese, Diaz sent to Texas for pair

First baseman Travis Hafner will replace Jim Thome.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Rangers found a replacement for Ivan Rodriguez before they even officially let the 10-time All-Star catcher go.
The Rangers acquired catcher Einar Diaz and right-hander Ryan Drese from the Cleveland Indians on Friday for first baseman Travis Hafner and right-hander Aaron Myette.
The move meant the Rangers will most likely not offer Rodriguez arbitration by today's deadline. That would mean he couldn't re-sign until May 1 with the only major league team he's played.
"It's surprising the club would end its relationship with Ivan Rodriguez without as much as a courtesy call to him or to me," said Rodriguez's agent, Jeff Moorad. "But we understand this is the time of year that things like this happen. It seemed likely that Pudge would move on, now it looks to be a certainty."
No more Pudge
Rodriguez made his major league debut with the Rangers at 19 years old midway through the 1991 season. In 1,479 games with Texas, he hit .303 with 215 homers and 829 RBIs and also won 10 straight Gold Gloves.
Rodriguez made $9.6 million last season, when he missed nearly two months with a herniated disk in his back. He also missed the ends of the 2000 and 2001 seasons because of injuries.
Diaz, 29, who replaced Sandy Alomar Jr. as the Indians catcher in 2000, is coming off a difficult season. He was involved in two jarring collisions at the plate and batted .206 with two homers and 16 RBIs.
After negotiating with Texas general manager John Hart, who used to run the Indians, Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro had an emotional phone conversation with Diaz about the possible trade Wednesday night.
"They needed a catcher. We were aware of that and the GM there is someone I'm comfortable in doing a deal with," Shapiro said.
Cleveland will pay part of Diaz's $1.75 million salary in the 2003 season.
Former Scrapper
Drese, 26, went 10-9 with a 6.55 ERA as a rookie. He was a Mahoning Valley Scrapper during their inaugural 1999 season.
Myette, 25, also split the 2002 season between Oklahoma and Texas, going 7-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 16 starts at Triple-A and 2-5 with a 10.06 ERA for Texas.
The trade appears to clear more playing time for Cleveland's two catching prospects, former Scrappers Josh Bard and Victor Martinez, who came up to the major leagues last season.
Hafner could be a possible replacement in Cleveland for Jim Thome, who signed an $85 million, six-year contract with Philadelphia this week.
"This is not a stopgap guy," Shapiro said. "This is something that has been in the works for quite some time. He's a guy who hits for average and power, and he's been one of the best in minor league baseball. He's a guy we were going to try to trade for regardless of whether we could sign Jim Thome."
Hafner, 25, made an impression on the Indians last season, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs at Jacobs Field on Aug. 11.
Hafner split last season between Triple-A Oklahoma and the Rangers. At Oklahoma, Hafner hit .342 (137-for-401) with 22 doubles, 21 homers and 77 RBIs in 110 games.
He appeared in his first 23 games for the Rangers and hit .242 in 62 at-bats with one homer and six RBIs. Hafner led the South Atlantic League in homers (28) and RBIs (111) for Class A Savannah in 1999.
Shapiro said Hafner will compete with another young first baseman, Ben Broussard, for the starting job. He said the Indians were not trying to work out a deal for Reds first baseman Sean Casey.
Hafner, like Thome, is a left-handed hitter and about the same size -- 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds.