AROUND THE MAJORS : Reliever Aguilera Traded to Red Sox

Rick Aguilera, one of baseball’s best relievers in the 1990s, was traded Thursday night from the Minnesota Twins to the Boston Red Sox for a young pitcher and a player to be determined.

The trade was prompted by Aguilera’s pending change of status. At midnight EDT, he was to become a 10-and-five player--10 years in the majors, the last five with the same team--which would give him the right to approve any trade.

Although the move had been anticipated, Twin players still seemed stunned.

“Nobody’s happy about it,” said Kevin Tapani, who came to Minnesota with Aguilera from the New York Mets on July 31, 1989, in a trade for Frank Viola. “You can’t take away one of your top players and say that’s great for us. It’s tough to take.”

Boston, leading the AL East, had a big hole in its bullpen. Before Thursday night’s game in Minnesota, Red Sox relievers had a 12-13 record with 14 saves in 26 chances and a 5.40 earned-run average.

For Aguilera, 33, the Twins received Frankie Rodriguez, 22, who is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA for the Red Sox.

Aguilera has said often he wanted to stay in Minnesota. He declined comment before the game and was unavailable after Dave Stevens, his apparent successor, got the final out for the first save of his career and the first save of the season for a Twin other than Aguilera.

Aguilera is 1-1 with a 2.52 ERA and 12 saves. Since being traded to the Twins, the right-hander has had at least 30 saves in four of five full seasons.

Several teams had coveted Aguilera, including Atlanta and Cleveland, and were willing to pick up his $3.8-million salary.

The Red Sox began the season with Ken Ryan and Stan Belinda sharing the closer’s duties, but both have struggled.

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Houston Astro rookie center fielder Brian Hunter will be out two to three weeks because of a broken right hand, the team announced.

Hunter was hit by a pitch Tuesday night against Colorado, and X-rays taken by team physician Tom Mehlhoff revealed the break.

In 21 games since his recall from triple-A Tucson of the Pacific Coast League, Hunter hit .374 (37 for 99) with 26 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.