Indians trade Shin-Soo Choo to Reds for Drew Stubbs: MLB moves

The Cleveland Indians have traded outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and infielder-outfielder Jason Donald to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Drew Stubbs.

The deal came Tuesday night. The Indians are working on other deals, including one that could include shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Choo, who has been Cleveland's primary right fielder for the Indians since 2006, will likely play centre and bat leadoff for Cincinnati.

Dealing Choo was almost a necessity for the Indians. He was entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for free agency in 2013. The Indians have not been able to work out a deal with agent Scott Boras, who has turned down several extensions in recent years.

The 30-year-old Choo batted .283 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs in 155 games last season. Donald hit .202 in 43 games.

Stubbs has played centre exclusively for the Reds. He batted .213 with 14 homers and 40 RBIs, and struck out 166 times in 493 at-bats.

Yankees, Youkilis reach 1-year deal

Kevin Youkilis is about to get a different look at the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

The hard-nosed Youkilis, who helped personify Boston's championship teams over the past decade, on Tuesday became the latest former Red Sox star to switch sides and land in Bronx. The free agent reached a deal that filled New York's immediate need for a third baseman to fill in for injured Alex Rodriguez.

The one-year contract for $12 million is pending a physical. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press about the agreement under condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

Youkilis, who turns 34 in March, is expected to play third base while Rodriguez recovers from hip surgery. A-Rod plans to have the operation in mid-January and could be sidelined until the All-Star break or beyond.

A three-time All-Star, Youkilis will get an early look at his old club. The Red Sox are set to open next season at Yankee Stadium on April 1.

Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs are among the Boston stars who wound up in pinstripes in recent times. Of course, the most famous player to make that move was Babe Ruth.

Minus Rodriguez for several months, the Yankees tried to find a fill-in. They made the offer to Youkilis last week at the baseball winter meetings. The agreement was first reported by Fox Sports.

Eric Chavez, A-Rod's backup for most of last season, joined Arizona last week. The Yankees considered several options as a stopgap at third, including Jeff Keppinger and Mark Reynolds, but both accepted deals with other teams.

Youkilis played third base and first base last season for the Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.

He was traded to the White Sox last June as Boston's new management reshaped the Red Sox roster. With the White Sox, Youkilis got off to a nice start before tailing off. He combined to hit a career-low .235 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs.

An All-Star in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Youkilis won a Gold Glove at first base in 2007. He is a .283 hitter with 148 home runs in nine seasons, and was on Boston teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007.

D-backs, McCarthy finalize contract

Right-hander Brandon McCarthy and the Arizona Diamondbacks finalized their deal Tuesday on a $15.5 million, two-year contract.

Oakland's opening day starter last season, McCarthy was hit in the right side of the head by a line drive off the bat of the Los Angeles Angels' Erick Aybar on Sept. 5. The 29-year-old pitcher sustained an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture, then underwent a two-hour surgery.

Last month, the 6-foot-7 McCarthy spent two days undergoing extensive evaluations by renowned concussion expert, Dr. Michael Collins, at the University of Pittsburgh. He was cleared by Collins to begin working out and resuming his regular off-season routine.

McCarthy was 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA last season, his sixth in the majors and second with Oakland. Overall, he is 37-39 with a 4.02 ERA in 153 games with the Chicago White Sox, Texas and Oakland.

Greinke chose Dodgers over Rangers

Zach Greinke showed up alone to a mid-November meeting at Dodger Stadium, asking as many questions as he answered. When he left three hours later, the pitcher thought he may have found his new team while the Dodgers brass knew they had to land the top arm on the open market.

They did, signing Greinke to a $147 million, six-year deal that is the richest for a right-hander in history. The Dodgers beat out Texas and the rival Los Angeles Angels, for whom Greinke pitched last season.

His introduction on Tuesday culminated a $183 million spending spree by the Dodgers in which they also signed South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin, who got a $36 million, six-year deal.

Greinke says he decided on the Dodgers because he believes they have a team in place that could win the World Series for several years. He says their offence is as deep as any team in baseball.