On Thursday, the New York Mets sent RHP Kevin Appier to Anaheim Angels in exchange for 1B Mo Vaughn. The two teams agreed to the trade in theory a few days ago, but it could not be finalized until the Mets and Mo Vaughn reached an agreement for Vaughn to defer a portion of his salary.

Although Appier and Vaughn will earn similar salaries in 2002, Vaughn's contract becomes much more expensive in 2003 and 2004. It is estimated that the deferral will cost Vaughn around a half million dollars in current day value, but the exact details were not released. We do know that Anaheim will still be paying the $8 million left from Vaughn's signing bonus, and that the deferral agreement was signed off on by both the commissioner's office and the MLBPA. There are also reports that the Angels included an undisclosed amount of cash with Vaughn.

After losing all of last season to a ruptured biceps tendon in his left arm, Connecticut native Mo Vaughn appears eager to strut his stuff with the Mets before East Coast crowds. He will start at 1B and is expected to hit 5th behind Piazza in the New York lineup. Many were surprised that an NL team had so much interest in Vaughn, considering his defensive capabilities have been severely questioned in the past. However, he has lost a bit of weight and a year of rest should have banished any lingering ankle problems.

In return for his cooperation regarding the salary deferral, it is suspected that Vaughn received trade protection that exceeds even that provided in his previous no-trade clause, which only allowed the Angels to deal him to six specified clubs, so the first baseman should be with the Mets for the duration of his contract. This means that Piazza will likely have to wait few more years before moving out from behind the plate. However, both Vaughn and Appier are in the middle of long term contracts, so both are entitled to request a trade in the 15 days following the 2002 World Series.

Mets' GM Steve Phillips has already done quite a lot to improve his team this off-season, but there are still decisions to be made before Spring Training and Opening Day. Because they were able to work out the deferral with Vaughn, the club may still have the resources available to sign free agent Juan Gonzalez. However, it is not quite that simple. While Gonzalez has expressed a strong interest in playing for the Mets to the extent that he might be open to signing with New York for a somewhat reduced price, Phillips has expressed a preference for improving the team through trades. Legitimate questions exist as to whether a hitter of Juan Gone's caliber would feel comfortable in the #6 slot, and shifting around the rest of the lineup wouldn't make too much sense. Of those left on the free agent market, Matt Stairs might be a better fit for LF and the #7 hole, while costing a lot less than Gonzalez.

Todd Zeile also presents the organization with a bit of a quandary. Vaughn is a definite upgrade over Zeile at 1B; however Todd is still under contract with the club and will receive $6 million dollars next season. The team has not ruled out keeping Zeile as a backup at the infield corners. He came up as a catcher, so he may try to revive his skills behind the plate, and even practice with some fly balls in the outfield to add a few more positions to his limited resumé of 1B/3B.

While New York obviously has a very solid top and heart-of-the-order, if they trade Zeile, they may be hurting for infield depth if they suffer injuries. Their utility players are limited besides Lenny Harris. However, I still think that they should attempt to deal him if possible. There will be very few teams willing to take on a $6 million contract for a player like Zeile. Reportedly Anaheim would not accept the trade when it included him. New York has had discussions with Toronto about acquiring Raul Mondesi, who might be a better fit for the 6th slot in the lineup than Gonzalez. The Blue Jays could use a lefty starter like Bruce Chen and a backup at third in case Hinske falters, but I suspect that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi won't feel the need to take on Zeile's contract to fill that hole, even if it would free him from Mondesi's expensive contract.

Another possibility with a bit more potential would be the Baltimore Orioles. Zeile has played for the Orioles in the past and the club needs a starting third baseman and more "proven veterans" to replace the departed Cal Ripken and Brady Anderson. They have the resources to cover the contract and are usually suckers for this kind of deal. New York's target in a trade of Zeile primarily should be to dump his contract, so one of the Orioles abundant utilitymen would probably be sufficient compensation, but the Mets might be able to get more if they ask the right way.

We next arrive at the questions inspired by Appier's departure. This trade leaves the Mets with a rotation of left-handed pitchers Al Leiter, Shawn Estes, Bruce Chen, and Glendon Rusch, along with RHP Steve Trachsel. Rotations this lefty-heavy are extremely rare, and clubs with lineups like that of NY's division rival Atlanta Braves could potentially feast upon it.

Leiter isn't going anywhere, and they just dealt for Estes, so that leaves Chen and Rusch as the primary trade bait. Phillips has been dangling Rusch for a while now, but Chen might be able to command more on the market. However, despite his recent penchant for trades, Phillips has also let it be known that he is not opposed to sticking with the lefty heavy staff, so we don't know that anyone will be dealt.

Meanwhile, we need to take a look at the deal from the perspective of the Angels. The Angels have made a big push to improve their starting pitching in the last few days, as they just signed free agent RHP Aaron Sele to a 3-year, $24 million contract reportedly worth $7.5M in 2002, $8M in 2003, and $8.5M in 2004. Sele was one of the top pitchers on the free agent market and is a handsome addition to their staff. Appier, who is also a strong RHP, will join Sele in at the top of the rotation.

These moves come as a bit of a surprise as most would have identified the Angels' starting pitching as one of their strengths and their offense as an area in need of improvement. Anaheim GM Bill Stoneman was quick to point out that they picked up Appier in return for a guy who didn't play for them last season.

Despite Stoneman's rather meaningless statement, the Angels are still left with gaping offensive holes. Maddeningly inconsistent Darin Erstad is a free agent after this season, and the Angels currently have little hope of re-signing him, so they should look to trade him before the July 31st deadline. Instead of moving him to 1B as is currently rumored, they should leave him in the outfield and let Shawn Wooten play full-time at 1B. They need to sign another bat, so free agents like Reggie Sanders and Matt Stairs might be useful to the club, but they require the team to make a commitment to improving the DH position, a move that they've resisted for several years.

Now that they have added two quality pitchers to their staff, I would recommend shopping Ramon Ortiz. He's young, talented, and still hasn't reached his full potential, but he's pitched so many innings in the last few years that he is one of the pitchers most likely to need major surgery and a significant DL stay. Ortiz should be worth a substantial offensive prospect in trade, perhaps even someone like Erubiel Durazo or Jack Cust of Arizona, in a deal that would substantially improve the Angels' offense and give Matt Wise the starting job he appears to deserve.

Ultimately, this trade could work out very well for both sides as long as they don't stop here. Both clubs have additional work to do this off-season that will determine whether or not this deal was a good idea.