Yankees trade for Casey McGehee

UPDATE 4:38: The Pirates have tweeted confirmation of the deal.

The Yankees didn't land Ryan Dempster, but they didn't come up empty-handed prior to Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline either.

Joel Sherman reports that the Yankees obtained third baseman Casey McGehee from the Pirates for righty reliever Chad Qualls.

McGehee, 29, is hitting .230 with eight home runs for Pittsburgh this season and is a .260 career hitter in five seasons. He's making just over $2.5 million in 2012 and is arbitration eligible after the season.

McGehee will add some insurance behind fragile third baseman Eric Chavez and journeyman Jayson Nix as the Yankees wait for Alex Rodriguez to recover from a fractured left hand.

McGeehee has started games at third base, first base and second base.

As recently as 2010, while with the Brewers, McGehee was a highly regarded third baseman. In 2009 he hit .301 with 16 home runs, finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He hit .285 with 23 home runs in 2010, but slumped badly (.626 OPS) in 2011, prompting a trade to the Pirates.

Qualls, acquired from the Phillies on July 1, was 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in eight games for the Yankees.