Rodriguez joins Yankees

NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez could hardly believe it: There he was at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, slipping into pinstripes.

The New York Yankees introduced their newest highly paid All-Star a day after commissioner Bud Selig approved the trade moving Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers to the Bronx.

"Wow! What a reception. I feel overwhelmed and very, very happy to be here," Rodriguez said at a packed news conference alongside captain Derek Jeter, manager Joe Torre and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

"I still feel like someone's going to pinch me and wake me up."

The first reigning MVP to be traded, Rodriguez will now play at Yankee Stadium, perhaps three miles from the Washington Heights neighborhood where he was born.

"I feel very special and honored. I hope that translates into being a good team player," said Rodriguez, who will shift to third base from shortstop, Jeter's position.

Torre was in New York for the presentation of his newest player instead of in Florida, where the Yankees were opening spring training camp Tuesday.

Texas gets second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a minor league player in the trade, but it will still have to pay $67 million of the $179 million Rodriguez is owed over the remainder of his record $252 million, 10-year deal.

"I'm pretty excited. This is a big, big one," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said Monday.

Rodriguez is moving onto the biggest stage in town and will be expected to help New York win the World Series for the first time since 2000.

The sign board outside Yankee Stadium proclaimed: "A Rod, Welcome to NY."

"I've come to a point in my career when winning is the most important thing," said Rodriguez, who played for three straight last-place teams in Texas. "And being a New York Yankee — it provides the opportunity, when you drive to the ballpark, every day you have a chance to win."

Steinbrenner and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman personally assured Jeter that he would keep his position and that Rodriguez would switch to third — where his only major league experience is one inning during an All-Star game.

"Derek's response to me was he thinks this is pretty cool," said Cashman, who also said moving Jeter was "not a consideration whatsoever."