By Jim Callis
June 6, 2003

With the Yankees looking for an outfielder who could hit from the left side, Ruben Sierra's third stint with the Rangers came to an end on Friday. New York picked him up in exchange for outfield prospect Marcus Thames.

Sierra, a 37-year-old switch-hitter, has had just one truly productive season since 1991 and called Yankees manager Joe Torre a liar during his previous stint in New York, yet that didn't stop the Yankees from making the move. Sierra hit .263-3-12 in 43 games with Texas this year, boosting his career totals to .270-279-1,193 in 1,941 contests. He can hit for decent power and average, but he draws few walks and is a poor defender. Sierra previously left the Rangers in an August 1992 trade for Jose Canseco and after the 2001 season as a free agent. He's making $600,000 in 2003.

Thames, 26, was a 30th-round pick out of East Central (Miss.) CC in 1996 and signed a year later as a draft-and-follow. He played briefly with the Yankees in 2002, homering off Randy Johnson in his first big league at-bat and going 3-for-13 in seven games. He's an athlete with some power in his bat, but he hasn't done much in the minors with the exception of a 31-homer season in 2001, when he was repeating Double-A. He hit .278-2-28 in 52 games at Triple-A Columbus before the trade.