Rockies Trade Chris Nelson To Yankees For Cash, PTBNL

The Colorado Rockies made a trade with the New York Yankees on Wednesday, sending infielder Chris Nelson to New York in exchange for cash and a player to be named later. Chris Nelson was designated for assignment on Sunday to make room for phenom Nolan Arenado.

Originally selected by Colorado with the ninth pick in the first round of the 2004 draft, Nelson battled highs and lows throughout his Rockies career. At one point Nelson was considered a gem of the Rockies system, being ranked in 2005 as the #26 Prospect in Baseball America's Top 100.

Nelson suffered through injuries the following years, appearing in only 81 games in 2008 and 29 games in 2009. Nelson received his first call-up to the Majors in 2010 and experienced the highlight of his career when he stole home against the Cincinnati Reds on September 9th.

Nelson was named the Rockies starting third baseman for 2012 and began slowly, batting only .255 in the first half of the year. He caught fire after the All-Star break posting a line of .344/.381/.500 in 55 games. He was batting .242/.282/.318 through 21 games this season.

The beleaguered Yankees will use Nelson as a band-aid at third base until Kevin Youkilis returns from injury. The Yankees have suffered through the worst injury luck in their history and as Craig Calcaterra pointed out, are playing with a lineup from a different tax bracket than New York fans are used to.

Commenter notes that the Yankees lineup + starter that won last night had a $35 million payroll.

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) May 2, 2013

The Yankees visit Coors Field on May 7 for a three-game series, giving Chris Nelson a chance to say goodbye to Colorado fans one last time.