He won’t add much more than than Wil Nieves offensively, but Jose Molina does have a reputation for handling pitchers very well.  Details from the Yanks’ Media Relations Department below.

YANKEES ACQUIRE C JOSE MOLINA FROM ANGELS

 

The Yankees announced today that they have acquired catcher Jose Molina from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jeff Kennard.

 

Molina, 32, was batting .224 (28-for-125) with 10 RBI in 40 games (37 starts at catcher) with the Angels this season.  He has hit safely in 25 of his 37 starts and has thrown out 7-of-25 base-stealers (28%) this season.  In 2006, Molina appeared in a career-high 78 games (71 starts) and threw out 41% (19-of-46) of base runners while posting five pick-offs.  He batted .240 with four home runs and 22 RBI while recording career-highs in hits (54) and doubles (17).

 

Now in his eighth Major League season, the Puerto Rico native has appeared in 373 career games and owns a .238 lifetime batting average.  He was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 14^th round of the 1993 First-Year Player Draft.  He is one of three Molina brothers currently playing in the Majors (Bengie – San Francisco and Yadier - St. Louis).

 

Kennard, 25, was 1-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 31 relief appearances with Double-A Trenton this season (52.2IP, 49H, 22R, 16ER, 17BB, 47K).  Now in his seventh season of professional baseball, Kennard was originally selected by the Yankees in the 40^th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.