NEW YORK -- For the second time this summer, an aging veteran who just missed out on the New York Yankees' success of recent years has been given another chance to win a ring with the three-time defending world champions.

	Randy Velarde Utility New York Yankees Profile
	2001 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 78 9 31 46 4 .297

The Yankees on Friday re-acquired versatile infielder Randy Velarde from the Texas Rangers for two players to be named.

Velarde, 39, began his major league career in New York in 1987 and remained with the team through the 1995 Division Series, which the Yankees lost in five gutwrenching games to the Seattle Mariners.

Following the 1995 campaign, Velarde opted to sign a free agent contract with the Anaheim Angels and has watched from Anaheim, Oakland and Texas as the Yankees have dominated baseball, winning four of the last five World Series.

With third baseman Scott Brosius currently on the disabled list with a broken finger and also set to become a free agent this winter, the Yankees' brought in Velarde just hours before players must be in an organization in order to be eligible for the postseason.

"I like the fact he's experienced, he plays third, and he's done some things," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "I think it gives us an insurance policy because of Brosius, even though we anticipate Scotty back, we're not sure at this point when that's going to be."

Velarde was batting .297 with nine homers and 31 RBI in 78 games for the Rangers this season. He has started games at four different positions: second base (49), first base (eight), third base (five) and left field (one) despite being sidelined with a pulled left hamstring from May 25-July 12.

A career .279 hitter with 98 homers and 436 RBI in 1,202 games, Velarde was never a full-time player with the Yankees, although he played 121 games in 1992, batting 272 with seven homers and 46 RBI.

While playing for the Athletics at Yankee Stadium last season, Velarde turned only the 11th unassisted triple play in major league history and the first at any New York ballpark. In 1999, he became only the sixth player in history to record 200 hits while playing for two different teams (Angels and A's).

Velarde's contract contains a $2.5 million team option for 2002. Although that would be expensive for a bench player, the Yankees might view Velarde as a cheap starter if Brosius departs and prized prospect Drew Henson is not ready to make the jump to the big club.

"He knows how to play the game, he plays the game the right way and at this point in his career he's dying to be on a winning team," Yankees right fielder Paul O'Neill said. "That's the kind of guy you need to get on your team at this time of year."

Desperate for pitching, the Rangers have been rumored to be interested in young lefthanders Ted Lilly and Randy Keisler, who have both spent time in the Yankees rotation this year before losing their jobs to Orlando Hernandez and Sterling Hitchock, respectively.

Hitchcock was a Yankee teammate of Velarde's from 1992 through '95 before he was sent away to the Seattle Mariners prior to the 1996 season. However, the Yankees brought the left-hander back to New York prior to the July 31 deadline to shore up their starting rotation.

To replace Velarde on the roster, the Rangers purchased the contract of catcher Marcus Jensen from Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League. He was to join the team Friday night in Kansas City.

Jensen is batting .298 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 53 games with Oklahoma.