The Expos and Mets completed a seven-player trade on Friday afternoon. RHP Scott Strickland, OF-L Matt Watson, and LHP Philip Seibel were traded to New York for LHP Bruce Chen, RHP Dicky Gonzalez, IF-S Luis Figueroa, and a player to be named later.

New York has been in the market for another experienced right-hander for the pen for weeks. They have been interested in trading Chen almost from the moment they acquired him. However, it is somewhat surprising that Strickland was the reliever acquired, as he was closing for Montreal.

Strickland will ease the workload of RHP David Weathers, RHP Grant Roberts and RHP Kane Davis. He will pitch in a set-up role and only receive save opportunities when Benitez is unavailable. Chen likely would have been fine in the Mets' bullpen, but he's a capable starter and was underused as a reliever. Strickland is a nice addition to the New York pen and should allow them to decrease the load on their starters as well as the other relievers.

Watson, a 23-year-old left-handed outfielder, spent last season at A+ Jupiter. He has excellent plate discipline and developing power and speed. He likely needs a year in AA and a year in AAA but should be ready for a major league starting job in 2004. Watson has a lot of potential and is a very good pickup for the Mets; he immediately becomes one of their better prospects.

Seibel is also 23 and spent last season at A+ Jupiter. He's a finesse lefty with good command but without a lot of dominance. He allows too many hits and doesn't strikeout enough batters. New York will send him to AA, where his performance this season will likely tell us if he'll ever be able to start in the majors.

Bruce Chen will eventually replace RHP Masato Yoshii in the Montreal rotation, though Chen may need a little time in order to build up his endurance as he has been training for a relief role this spring and hasn't stretched his arm out over a lot of innings. Yoshii will move to the pen where he will likely be used as a swingman.

With Strickland's departure, RHP Matt Herges will likely become Montreal's top candidate for saves. RHP Britt Reames could also see some opportunities, as could lefties Scott Stewart and Graeme Lloyd. At this point, I think it is likely that the Expos will lean towards a committee rather than a single appointed closer. While this trade leaves their bullpen slightly exposed, it nicely enhances their rotation so that there should be less work for the relievers.

Dicky Gonzalez has been a starter for most of his minor league career, though the Mets tried to use him as a reliever for a portion of last season. The 23-year-old has good skills and could easily be a fifth starter on several teams. He'll be sent to AAA Ottawa where he'll provide injury insurance for the major league team. There are several other pitchers in front of him, so I doubt he'll see much playing time in Montreal this season.

Luis Figueroa can play any position in the infield, including shortstop, and also has excellent plate discipline. The downside is that he's already 28 and has little speed or power potential. However he certainly seems qualified for a middle infield position in the majors. He will be sent to AAA for the foreseeable future.

Watson and Seibel are both still a couple years from the majors. I really like Watson and I think Seibel has some potential. I am also quite high on Gonzalez and Figueroa, both of whom are ready to contribute to a major league roster right now. While Figueroa's age is a concern, his strike zone judgment leads me to believe he could have a productive career despite a late arrival that seems to be more a product of poor decisions on the part of Pittsburgh than his own faults. Therefore even though the Expos will still be receiving a PTBNL, I'll call the trade a tie for now on the minor league side.

However, I am prepared to say that Montreal came out ahead in this trade overall based on Chen versus Strickland. Strickland is a very good right-handed reliever and would probably be a fine closer. However Chen has the ability to contribute in a much larger role as a left-handed starter.

Both the Mets and Expos have been busily making transactions the last few weeks. This is actually the second recent trade between the two teams. Last Tuesday, New York traded UT-R Lou Collier to the Montreal for RHP Jimmy Serrano and OF-R Jason Bay.

Serrano is a right-handed reliever who will be 26 in May and split last season between AA and AAA. Although he's a bit old, he has demonstrated solid control and dominance skills. As he only had 8 IP in AAA, he will likely need to return to that level before he can advance to the majors, but he certainly has the potential to be a very productive member of a bullpen.

Bay is another 23-year-old quality outfield prospect. While he has less plate discipline than Watson, he has demonstrated home run power whereas Watson's displayed mostly doubles power. His strike zone judgment could be much worse, so he should be able to advance to AA this season and make it to the majors by 2005 at the latest as at least a 4th outfielder if not a full-time player. He split last season between A+ Jupiter and A Clinton.

Collier broke camp with the Expos and will serve as an additional infield reserve. He adds depth to their bench and is a nice addition, but hardly seems worth trading two fairly good prospects to acquire. I think the Mets definitely won this trade.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to cover some of the other Montreal and New York roster moves tomorrow.