The Yankees traded Orlando Hernandez and acquired reliever Antonio Osuna and minor league pitcher Delvis Lantigua Tuesday. In a three-way deal with the Chicago White Sox and Montreal Expos, the Yankees sent El Duque to Chicago in exchange for Osuna and Lantigua. Chicago then dealt Hernandez, along with outfielder Jeff Liefer and right-hander Rocky Biddle, to Montreal for Bartolo Colon and right-hander Jorge Nunez.

New York’s two motivations behind this trade were to reduce the size of the starting pitching staff and keep ace Colon away from the rival Red Sox. They achieved both these objectives.

Osuna, 29, was 8-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 59 appearances for the White Sox in 2002. He had a career-high 11 saves last year, and his 0.13 home runs per nine innings was the best ratio among American League relievers in 2002. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in 1991 and he stayed with the organization until traded to the White Sox in March 2001. Osuna replaces the void in the bullpen left by free agents Ramiro Mendoza, who signed with the Red Sox, and Mike Stanton, who signed with the Mets.

Lantigua, 22, went 6-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 16 games in 2002 with Chicago’s Double-A affiliate and went 1-5 with a 5.85 ERA for their Triple-A affiliate. He spent five minor-league seasons with the Dodgers (1998-99) and the White Sox (1999-2002) and has a combined 28-22 record with a 4.05 ERA in 94 games and 72 starts.

Hernandez spent five seasons with the Yankees and went 53-38 with a 4.04 ERA. He became the first Major League pitcher to win his first eight postseason decisions and his 9-3 postseason record is one victory short of the Yankees’ postseason record shared by Andy Pettitte and Whitey Ford.

Boston, who lost out on Hideki Matsui and Jose Contreras, the Yankees’ two largest off-season acquisitions, now lost out on signing Colon, which would have given them a starting rotation of Colon, Pedro Martinez, and Derek Lowe.

This acquisition comes less than 24 hours after manager Joe Torre expressed concern about his pitching staff following Matsui’s press conference. “My job is to put things together best I can,” he told the New York Daily News. “The eight starters – sure it’s nice to say use five of them and put three in the bullpen – but you’re not dealing with playing cards in the basement. You’re dealing with people.”

The Yankees now have seven official starting pitchers – Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, David Wells, Jose Contreras, Jeff Weaver, and Sterling Hitchcock.