NEW YORK — Former POWER pitcher Corey Black (2009) was in the headlines this weekend, after he was dealt straight up by the New York Yankees to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for outfielder Alfonso Soriano.

When Black was contacted by POWER owner Andrew Starke after he caught wind of the news, he was just as surprised as he his former boss.

“It’s pretty crazy right now,” he told Starke.

And apparently Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was very reluctant to let him go.

“”I didn’t want to give up [Single-A pitcher] Corey Black.” Cashman told ESPN New York on Sunday. “I did not want to do Corey Black. We had been negotiating with the Cubs for a long time. They wanted something more a week earlier and ownership, obviously, in our discussions [felt] we needed to do something.”

The 21-year-old right-hander was 3-8 with a 4.25 ERA for Single-A Tampa this year.