PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AFP) - Akinori Iwamura, who played in last year's World Series, says he is excited about the new challenge he faces - helping the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates snap a record 17-year playoff drought.

The Japanese second baseman was traded to from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Pirates late Tuesday, becoming the highest-paid player on the Pittsburgh roster with a deal expiring after 2010 that pays him 4.85 million dollars next season.

"Very exciting," Iwamura said. "I proved last year that I can play at a high level. We will see what happens."

Iwamura, 30, fills an infield hole for the Pirates, who traded Freddy Sanchez last July and struggled with Delwyn Young in the job during the second half of a 99-loss season.

The Rays lost 96 games in 2007, when Iwamura played his first North American season, but won last year's American League title before losing to Philadelphia in the World Series.

This year, Iwamura played only 69 games after suffering a torn left knee anterior cruciate ligament and missing three months of the season. He returned in the final weeks of the campaign but was not at full strength.

"It feels very good, but it's still not 100 percent," Iwamura said. "It will be fine next season, completely healthy."

The Pirates sent Jesse Chavez, a right-handed pitcher whose 73 appearances led all major league rookies this year, to Tampa Bay in exchange for Iwamura, who has a US career average of .281 with 104 runs batted in and 14 home runs.

By making the move before the end of this year's World Series, the Rays avoided having to pay a 550,000-dollar buyout fee on Iwamura's contract.