By Josh Boyd
December 13, 2003

Within hours of losing free agent Andy Pettitte to the Astros on Thursday, George Steinbrenner's Yankees reacted by acquiring Kevin Brown from the Dodgers for playoff outcast Jeff Weaver, minor league righthander Yhency Brazoban and a player to be named later. That deal was finalized on Saturday. Baseball America has reported earlier that the player to be named will be minor league righty Brandon Weeden.

In addition to assuming the final two years of Brown's landmark seven-year, $105 million contract, which calls for $15 million salaries in 2004 and 2005, New York also agreed to pay $3 million of the $15.5 million in salaries due to Weaver over the next two years. The final hurdle to completing the deal was overcome when Los Angeles agreed to pick up the cost of the contractual clause that calls for private jet service to take Brown's family from his home in Georgia to New York 12 times a year.

Brown, a 38-year-old righthander, is coming off his first healthy season and best year since 2000. Limited by elbow troubles in 2001 and a back injury in 2002, he rebounded to go 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA (second-best in the National League) in 32 starts. In 211 innings, he rang up 185 strikeouts against 56 walks while holding opponents to a .239 average. Last season, his electric stuff was back and nearly as good as ever, though scouts wonder how much of a toll the injuries and his maximum-effort delivery have taken on his arm. His fastball has outstanding boring life, even at 92-96 mph, and his slider is an out pitch. Now with his sixth team heading into his 18th season, Brown has gone 197-131, 3.16 in 451 big league games. He joins fellow trade acquisition Javier Vazquez and Mike Mussina to give the Yankees a formidable big three at the head of their rotation.

Weaver, 27, ends a dismal 1½-year stint with the Yankees, who acquired him in a July 2002 trade with the Athletics and Tigers. Regarded as an emerging frontline starter at the time, Weaver crumbled in New York, going 12-12, 5.34. He went 7-9, 5.99 in 2003, with a 93-47 strikeout-walk ratio and .320 opponent average in 159 innings. He was demoted to the bullpen before completely losing manager Joe Torre's confidence in the postseason. His lone playoff appearance resulted in a game-winning home run by Alex Gonzalez in Game 4 that turned the World Series around for the Marlins. Weaver has lost all confidence, but can be effective with a moving low-90s fastball from his low three-quarters, slingy arm slot. He needs to regain the consistency of his Frisbee slider if he's going to be successful. His career mark is 51-63, 4.59 in 158 games.

Brazoban, 23, signed as an outfielder out of the Dominican Republic in 1997 and converted to the mound in July 2002 after stalling with a .242/.290/.337 performance in low Class A. In 1½ seasons as a reliever, he has advanced rapidly, reaching Double-A midway through 2003. Overall, he has gone 2-4, 5.23 with a 69-31 K-BB ratio and .272 opponent average in 65 innings. Armed with an overpowering 97-mph fastball and a plus slider, Brazoban has to overcome his reputation as a lazy worker and improve his command. He doesn't respond well to getting hit, and posted a 7.81 ERA in Double-A Trenton after having a 2.83 ERA at high Class A Tampa in 2003.

Weeden, 20, was New York's top pick (second round) in the 2002 draft. The Yankees had high hopes for him but brought him along slowly. Primarily a shortstop in high school, he showed arm strength to go with a lean, athletic frame. He has the makings of a good delivery, and scouts believe there's projection to his 89-92 mph four-seam fastball. Weeden's breaking ball is a work in progress, and he needs to show more confidence in the pitch. He split 2003 between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and short-season Staten Island, going 2-2, 2.58 in 12 games (nine starts). In 45 innings, he had a 38-23 K-BB ratio and .188 opponent average.