New York's two teams completed a trade yesterday with the Mets' sending Armando Benitez to the Yankees for Jason Anderson, Ryan Bicondoa, and Anderson Garcia. After allowing a sizeable portion of their bullpen to depart as free agents last off-season, the Yankees have not been pleased with most of the relievers in their pen this year. Benitez will now move from closing in Queens to working middle relief and setting up Mariano Rivera in the Bronx.

Some people invariably are impressed whenever a team makes someone else's closer their middle reliever. However, the acquired closer certainly isn't a sure bet to upgrade his new team's bullpen. Having witnessed Benitez blow a career high seven saves over 28 opportunities this season, some Mets' fans will likely take solace in the belief that they've helped sabotage the Yankees' season. I'm not certain what to expect. The 30-year-old's strikeout rate has been gradually dropping since 1999, however he's still racking up over a K an inning. He's held a walk rate over 4 BB/9 for most of his career, so the fact that he's returned to that level after showing improvement last season doesn't overly trouble me. Benitez has improved his G-F this season and that progress is evident in his HR/9, but we can still expect that rate to increase with the move from Shea to Yankee Stadium. He's a solid if not outstanding pitcher. As the two teams have similar defenses, my main concern is how Benitez will react to not closing after holding a stopper position for the better part of six years. Unfortunately, the Yankees aren't likely to be patient with him if he suffers some moving pains.