Although Thursday's trade between the Anaheim Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays hardly measures up to either of the deals completed earlier in the week, it still provides us with some potentially interesting repercussions to discuss. Anaheim sent RHP Brain Cooper to Toronto in exchange for DH Brad Fullmer.

I think this is a very good trade for the Angels and certainly a justifiable move for the Blue Jays. Mo Vaughn's departure from Anaheim emphasized the large hole at DH and the team's need for an offensive boost. The 27-year-old Fullmer should be able to help with those problems. He is extremely happy with the trade, completed on his birthday, as he was born in the Anaheim area. My primary concern is with his severe platoon split. He has a career .294 BA, .343 OBP, and a .504 SLG against righties, but only a .223 BA, .271 OBP, and .377 SLG against lefties. The sample size is large enough to demonstrate a substantial flaw in Fullmer's skills, and we have little data that would indicate he is likely to correct this problem.

Scott Spiezio has a similar, if less extreme, split, so a platoon of the two is not an option. Shawn Wooten works as a platoon partner for one of the two at 1B or DH, as he had a .530 SLG against lefties last season. If you platoon Spiezio and Wooten at 1B, which is my preference, Jeff DaVanon becomes your best option as a replacement for Fullmer against lefties. While DaVanon might be acceptable in the role, I'm not satisfied with placing that kind of limit on potential production, leading me to believe that the Angels still need to look into signing a free agent to hit against lefties. Bringing back Ricky Henderson might be an interesting option. Fullmer signed a two-year, $6.5M contract at this time a year ago, but still has three years remaining before he is eligible for free agency.

Brain Cooper has about as much upside as any 27-year-old still pitching at AAA can have. He has pitched effectively in the majors in the past, but was moved up too fast and suffered some development problems as a result, leading to his demotion. I suspect Ricciardi picked him up as insurance for his young middle relievers and injury-prone rotation. Cooper should compete for a roster spot in Spring Training and will likely receive a mid-season call-up if he does not make the club on Opening Day.

This is the first trade the rookie GM has made that I would classify as more of a transitional move rather than a transaction aimed at directly improving the ball club. The Jays currently have four players expected to see significant playing time in the outfield with Raul Mondesi, Shannon Stewart, Jose Cruz, and Vernon Wells. Now that the designated hitter's role is wide open, whichever player isn't in the field on a particular day can clock some time at DH. Catching prospect Josh Phelps would also likely benefit from having the DH position available, as he has had some defensive problems behind the plate. Beyond the talent already present in the Blue Jay's system, there has been some speculation that Ricciardi may have interest in Jack Cust, the outfielder recently traded to Colorado from the Diamondbacks whose defense limits him to playing at 1B or DH.

In older news, Terry Adams signed with the Phillies on Tuesday. Although only one year and $2.7 million of the contract are guaranteed, with options and bonuses the deal could be worth as much as $19.5M over three years. Adams will receive a base salary of $2.7M in 2002 with $2.1 in possible bonuses, the club has an option for 2003 with a base salary of $5.4M and bonuses of up to $1.2M, and the 2004 club option is at a base salary of $7.5M with $600,000 in potential bonuses.

I like this signing, as I considered Adams to be one of the better pitchers left on the market, and he slots nicely into Philadelphia's rotation behind Robert Person and Randy Wolf. Aside from a bit of fatigue, he's pitched well in his transition from the bullpen to the rotation. It's to be expected that a player who rapidly increases their IP in a single season will suffer some effects, but I feel confident that Adams can sustain his performance over the duration of the season in 2002 and pick up some of that bonus money, which is based upon GS and IP. Additionally, the Phillies have a deep enough pool of potential starters to cover for him if he needs to sit or just to spell him occasionally during the season to keep him rested. It would appear that quite a bit of work went into writing this contract with its multiple options and extensive bonus system, however whereas in some cases this kind of detail feels like a total waste of time, since the player shouldn't have his options picked up and/or has little chance of reaching the bonus goals, I think the provisions will be useful with Adams.

Free agent pitcher Pedro Astacio also signed this week. On Wednesday, Astacio and the New York Mets agreed to a one-year deal worth $5M, with an option for 2003. This deal is also based around some incentives, because Astacio is a major injury question mark, as he chose to rehab the torn labrum in his pitching arm rather than undergo surgery. If he reaches 180 IP in 2002 then the Mets option for 2003 automatically kicks in. He also has the chance to earn a $5M bonus, if he can reach 230IP.

Even with the injury troubles, Astacio was expecting a larger salary and many expected he would receive it, so New York likely has a good bargain on their hands. A healthy Astacio is an ace on many teams in baseball, and adding another righty to their very lefty-heavy rotation is a smart move on the part of GM Steve Phillips. I've considered Astacio a good target for almost every team in baseball this off-season, so I really think this was a constructive move by the Mets, though some of the recent development snags in his rehab concerned me. This could be a very interesting NL East pennant race.