46-year-old Orosco returns to New York as Yanks-Padres deal

In another trade, Boston took reliever Scott Sauerbeck from the Pirates.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jesse Orosco is returning to New York -- and a pennant race.
The New York Yankees acquired the 46-year-old left-hander in a trade with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night for a player to be named.
"I don't know how much longer I'll be doing this," Orosco said outside the San Diego clubhouse during the Padres' game against St. Louis. "To have a chance to win another ring, it's too much to pass up."
The AL East-leading Yankees, who got setup man Armando Benitez in a deal with the New York Mets last week, were looking for a second left-hander to join Chris Hammond in the bullpen.
They found their man in the oldest player in the majors, getting a pitcher still popular in New York for throwing his glove high in the air after clinching the 1986 World Series for the Mets.
"We look forward to Jesse Orosco coming back to New York and providing another choice in the bullpen for Joe Torre as he matches up in late-inning situations," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.
Torre is plenty familiar with the new arrival, who has pitched more games (1,229) than anyone else in history. When Orosco made his major league debut in 1979, his manager on the Mets was Torre.
Orosco said he was not certain when he'd complete his travel arrangements and join the Yankees.
This deal will not cost the Yankees a lot. They will pay just $111,475 to Orosco -- a prorated share of the $300,000 minimum -- with the last-place Padres paying the remainder of his $800,000 salary.
Red Sox-Pirates deal
Earlier in the day, the Yankees' main competition in the division, the Boston Red Sox, got lefty reliever Scott Sauerbeck in a trade with Pittsburgh. The Yankees also had been interested in Sauerbeck.
In a four-player trade, the Red Sox acquired Sauerbeck and gave up right-handed reliever Brandon Lyon and Double-A right-hander Anastacio Martinez and obtained Triple-A lefty Mike Gonzalez.
"We've wanted another really good left-hander in the pen for some time," Boston general manager Theo Epstein said. "This was the top left-hander available, one of the top left-handers in the game in the bullpen. Sauerbeck is just about everything we're looking for in a left-handed reliever."
The trade showed the differing approaches of the teams. The Red Sox lead the AL wild card race and are hoping to win the World Series, while the Pirates are headed for their 11th straight losing season.
Sauerbeck, scheduled to join the Red Sox today, could help against lefties in the three-game series with the New York Yankees starting Friday night at Fenway Park. The Yankees lead the second-place Red Sox in the AL East standings.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. I have a lot of friends [in Pittsburgh] and this is the organization that gave me a chance," Sauerbeck said. "Part of me is excited because this is a park I've wanted to see since I was a little kid and I'm moving up in the standings. I'm excited. I looked at the schedule and they're playing the Yankees this weekend."
The Red Sox began stabilizing their bullpen on May 29 when they acquired closer Byung-Hyun Kim from Arizona for third baseman Shea Hillenbrand.
On July 2, they claimed former All-Star Todd Jones off waivers from Colorado. They also recently got back lefty Casey Fossum and righty Chad Fox from the disabled list.
That's helped the team lower its ERA from 5.23 on June 14 to 4.52.