NEW YORK --- The Yankees expect to acquire Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros today and already worked out a deal to obtain outfielder Austin Kearns from the Cleveland Indians.
New York will send a couple of prospects to the Astros, a baseball executive familiar with the discussions said. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing.
"Nothing's been completed," Berkman said Friday in Houston, before the Astros played Milwaukee.
A five-time All-Star, Berkman has full no-trade rights and his approval was necessary for a trade. He was not in the starting lineup against the Brewers.
"I'm from Texas. Heck, I played at Rice. This city is like the womb. I feel very comfortable here. To think about the possibility of going anywhere else is kind of scary," Berkman said.
Kearns left Cleveland's game at Toronto in the seventh inning on Friday night, and was traded to the Yankees for a player to be named or cash. The former first-round draft pick is hitting .272 with eight homers and 42 RBI.
Berkman appeared to be the more significant acquisition.
"My ideal situation is to win a title here. If this organization feels those aims are better accomplished by trying to strip down this roster and reload with younger guys, I don't want to stand in the way of that," Berkman said. "If they approached me with something that made sense, I'd sure think about it."
In other moves, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded away an All-Star pitcher for the second time in a week, sending right-hander Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox for rookie Daniel Hudson and prospect David Holmberg.
Infielder Cristian Guzman was traded by the Washington Nationals to the Texas Rangers for two minor league pitchers.
Also, the Atlanta Braves traded minor league outfielder Mitch Jones to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash.
Teams have until 4 p.m. today to complete non-waiver trades. Clubs can still make deals afterward but players must clear waivers in order for those deals to be approved.
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