Mets trade for El Duque

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Gave up Jorge Julio, got Orlando Herandez from Arizona...<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Mets acquire El Duque for JulioBy Chris Girandola / MLB.com Orlando Hernandez has a career 2.20 ERA in five World Series appearances. (Denis Poroy/AP)NEW YORK -- In need of a jolt to the starting rotation, the Mets on Wednesday acquired Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez from the Arizona Diamondbacks for reliever Jorge Julio.Before Wednesday's game against the Phillies, Omar Minaya announced he had been working on the deal for a couple of weeks, and he said it helps deal with the recent losses felt in the rotation.Hernandez has a 2-4 record and a 6.11 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 20 walks in 45 2/3 innings pitched. Perhaps more importantly, he was a member of last season's World Series champions, the Chicago White Sox, as well as six Yankees clubs that reached the postseason. In five career Fall Classic appearances (four starts), Hernandez is 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA. Lifetime, El Duque is 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 19 postseason appearances (14 starts)."I feel very fortunate to be able to bring in a proven guy like that, who's well-respected and liked across the board," said Minaya. "Another valuable thing with El Duque is he's been in New York before so we know he can handle this environment."The Mets had starters Victor Zambrano, John Maine and Brian Bannister suffer injuries that have put their rotation into constant flux. With Alay Soler going tonight, the Mets will have used nine starters so far this season.Minaya added that he's not finished dealing.When asked if he had a difficult time trading Julio, who was acquired in January with Maine from Baltimore for starter Kris Benson, Minaya recognized Julio's talent but reiterated the importance of filling the need for starters."You look at Julio's stats, and they're pretty impressive," said Minaya. "But if you had told me at the beginning of the season, we would have Maine and El Duque for Julio and Benson, I would have taken that."In his last start, Hernandez allowed one run on six hits with three walks and nine strikeouts over seven innings against Pittsburgh on May 22. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder went 9-9 with one save with a 5.12 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) for the White Sox.</div>