Yankees Finally Get Irabu Rights

Next stop for the Hideki Irabu saga--the Bronx.

The San Diego Padres ended their festering, three-month association with the star Japanese right-hander on Tuesday by selling his negotiating rights to the New York Yankees for $3 million. Irabu, 27, whose fastball has been clocked at 100 mph, is expected to command a multimillion-dollar signing bonus.

Irabu has said that it was his boyhood dream to pitch for the Yankees. If he makes it to the majors, Irabu would become the third Japanese pitcher on an active roster, joining Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers and Shigetoshi Hasegawa of the Angels.

As part of the deal, subject to approval from the ruling executive council, the Yankees will send injured outfielder Ruben Rivera and minor-league pitcher Rafael Medina to San Diego in return for three minor-leaguers: second baseman Homer Bush and outfielders Gordon Amerson and Vernon Maxwell.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and Padre President Larry Lucchino confirmed the deal in a release issued by the Yankees.

Because Maxwell was picked in the 1996 amateur draft, he can’t be sent to the Yankees until June.

The Yankees and Irabu still have to work out a contract. The Padres and Irabu’s former team in Japan, the Chiba Lotte Marines, have informally accused New York of tampering and discussing parameters of a contract with Irabu before the trade.

However, Chiba Lotte General Manager Mitsumasa Mitsuno told Kyodo News the Marines would approve negotiations between the Yankees and Irabu. He said the Marines have yet to be informed about the deal.

Irabu, who has been compared with Nolan Ryan because of his 1,111 strikeouts in 1,101 2/3 innings in nearly nine full seasons, was 12-6 with a 2.40 earned-run average last year, leading the Pacific League in ERA for the second year in a row.