MLB team All team sports information reports MLB team Tigers today traded catcher Ivan Rodriguez straight up to the New York Yankees for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski portrayed three causes for the deal. First off, Rodriguez can be a free agent after this season.

Secondly, the MLB team believes Brandon Inge is ready to succeed Rodriguez as the No. 1 catcher for the rest of this season. "Brandon Inge is ready to tackle being the everyday catcher. He gives us a quality chance to win on a day-in, day-out basis and this allows us to address the one area of our club that needs to be addressed the most, which is our bullpen, " Dombrowski explained. He also said Inge will be the No. 1 catcher next season.

Lastly, the MLB team Tigers need bullpen help. "Our major focus was our bullpen," said Dombrowski. Todd Jones has been replaced at closer by Fernando Rodney, but neither Rodney nor Joel Zumaya, who were injured much of the year, are as durable right now as the MLB team Tigers hope they will be. Rodney has struggled with his control in both of his outings since he replaced Jones at closer.

He stressed that the deal doesn't in any way represent a retreat from the MLB team Tigers' playoff aspirations for this season. He said he believes the trade makes the club stronger now.

The Yankees need a catcher because their first-string catcher, Jorge Posada, had season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday. The rehab time is about six months.

Rodriguez signed with the MLB team Tigers in the off-season after they lost 119 games in 2003. In that season, Rodriguez was the catcher for the world champion Florida Marlins.

"I want to make special note of everything Pudge has done for our organization," Dombrowski said. "He helped us in the very beginning. I told him, I will be in Cooperstown the day he is inducted (in the Hall of Fame)."

After his 4-for-4 performance on Sunday, he had the best offensive numbers of any prospective free-agent catcher. He is hitting .295 with five homers in 82 games this season. Among all catchers with at least 290 at-bats, Rodriguez ranks fifth in on-base-plus-slugging percentage, with .759. The four catchers ahead of him this year are MLB team All-Stars Brian McCann, Joe Mauer, Geovany Soto and Russell Martin.

Farnsworth, like Rodriguez, can be a free agent after this season. He pitched for the MLB team Tigers in 2005. At the trading deadline that year, the MLB team Tigers traded him to Atlanta for pitchers Zach Miner (now a Tigers starter) and Roman Colon (since dealt to Kansas City). The MLB team Tigers made the deal after Farnsworth, also a pending free agent that season, turned down a multi-year contract offer from them.

This season, Farnsworth is 1-2 in 45 appearances. His statistic that would raise the most concern is homers allowed: 11 in 44 1/3 innings.

"He has been throwing well lately, between 94 and 98 mph," Dombrowski said.

With Thursday's 4 p.m. trading deadline about 24 hours away, Dombrowski said, "I've talked to a dozen clubs today. I don't think I'm close on anything. You never know when things take place this time of year. This one (the Rodriguez trade) came out of the blue. This deal all really happened today."

Dombrowski said the MLB team hadn't held any contract discussions with Rodriguez about next season.

In a related development, Dane Sardinha was called up from Triple-A Toledo to be the No. 2 catcher behind Inge.