Reliever Brian Bruney dealt to Nationals by Yankees in 1st trade of winter meetings

Brian Bruney traded to Nationals by Yankees

INDIANAPOLIS — Brian Bruney was dealt Monday to the Washington Nationals from the New York Yankees for a player to be named in the first trade of the winter meetings.

The 27-year-old right-hander was 5-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 44 regular-season appearances but pitched just once for the Yankees from mid-April until mid-June because of a strained right elbow, an injury he blamed on time he spent warming up during an umpires’ video review.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, kind of a power arm to go toward the end of our bullpen, and just we feel like we needed a little help out there,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said. “He’s got experience, and he’s got a good arm.”

Riggleman, who took over as Nationals manager in July, isn’t worried about Bruney’s elbow.

“They’ve all had some tenderness or DL time,” he said. “If you only made a move on somebody who’s never been on the DL, it’s hard to find people.”

Bruney was dropped from the Yankees’ roster for playoff series against Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels, then gave up two runs and got just one out in his lone World Series appearance, in the opener against Philadelphia.

He is 16-10 with 13 saves and a 4.27 ERA in 229 relief appearances and one start over six seasons. He had 12 saves for Arizona in 2005.

Bruney had a $1.25 million salary this year and is eligible for arbitration. He won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season.

New York thinks it has several right-handed setup options for closer Mariano Rivera. By the postseason, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain took up what had been Bruney’s role at the start of the season.

“There is some depth there,” general manager Brian Cashman said.

To clear roster space, the Nationals released right-hander Saul Rivera, who had a 6.10 ERA in 30 appearances for Washington this year.

AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.