I'm going to spend one more day catching up on trades and transactions and then I'll probably try to take a look at some recent injury news tomorrow.

Philadelphia traded OF Reggie Taylor to Cincinnati for a PTBNL on the 28th of March. LHP Hector Mercado was then sent to the Phillies as the PTBNL a week ago today.

The 25-year-old Taylor has spent most of the last two seasons in AAA with a handful of at-bats in the majors. He has good speed and even some power but very poor plate discipline. Taylor joined the team as the Reds 5th outfielder, although since Juan Encarnacion is considered a poor defender even in right, Taylor's the only real backup on the roster for Ken Griffey.

Mercado is a fairly good lefty reliever though he allows a few too many hits. He did not fit in the Cincinnati bullpen but will be the Phillies' second lefty reliever after Rheal Cormier.

This trade filled perceived needs for both teams, though those needs likely could have been addressed elsewhere without depleting their respective depth in OF and LHP. The Phillies could have used Pete Zamora or a waiver pick-up, but this will give Zamora some extra time in AAA and Taylor won't be anything special unless he manages to improve his strike zone judgment. The Reds thought they needed someone who could play centerfield better than Juan Encarnacion and Taylor does have some upside. Overall, it's pretty much a draw.

In other Phillies/Reds news, Kevin Jordan, who was released by Philadelphia on the 29th, was picked up by Cincinnati on Wednesday. He'll start the season in AAA but will provide the Reds with some insurance in case of injury to one of their infielders.

Two weeks ago today, Milwaukee traded 1B Kevin Barker to San Diego for C Dusty Wathan. Wathan doesn't appear to have any real offensive skills but provides the Brewers with a back-up in case of injury to Raul Casanova or Paul Bako. Barker has a little power but is basically just an extra body at AAA for the Padres. The Brewers have infield back-ups coming out of their ears, so trading one for an extra catcher doesn't hurt. However since they could have picked up comparable talent on waivers I'm not sure why either team bothered with this trade.

On Wednesday, the Brewers picked up Nelson Figueroa on waivers from the Philadelphia. He's a decent addition to a bullpen depleted by injury, though he probably doesn't have enough strikeouts to balance the hits he allows. More importantly, he's a capable starter who gives the Brewers a very good replacement in case of injury to a member of their rotation; Figueroa might even be an upgrade on Jamey Wright, although he likely can't throw quite as many innings.

Figueroa took the roster spot of LHP Ray King, who was placed on the 15-day DL with tendinitis in his left elbow. There has been no news as to how long King will be out, but Figueroa will almost certainly stay on the roster even after King's return. This move will leave Takahito Nomura as their only left-handed reliever.

San Diego allowed rule 5 pick RHP Ryan Baerlocher to return to Kansas City in order to carry RHP Jason Boyd. The 24-year-old Baerlocher has not pitched above AA, but he has tremendous potential as a starter and likely would have been fine as a reliever for a season. He already has better skills than the 29-year-old Boyd, so it makes little sense to let him go.

Meanwhile Kansas City made the very admirable move of releasing RHP Doug Henry. Difficult as it might be to cut a pitcher making $1.55M this season, along with absorbing the $200K buyout on his 2003 option, he's a worse pitcher than several of their other cuts.

Releasing Henry also likely allows them to keep RHP Miguel Ascencio, who they took as a rule 5 pick from Philadelphia. Ascencio has not pitched above A ball, but like Baerlocher, is a high upside pitcher who should be able to handle a season as a reliever before returning to the minors to continue his development.

The Dodgers have made a number of recent roster moves including designating OF Tom Goodwin and RHP Mike Trombley for assignment and signing C Todd Greene, IF Felix Martinez, OF Scott Pose to minor league contracts. The club also tried to pass McKay Christensen through waivers but the Mets claimed him as previously discussed.

Neither Goodwin nor Trombley is likely to accept a minor league assignment, so they will probably become free agents. Both will likely sign with new teams in the next two weeks.

LA didn't have room for Goodwin and Christensen because they wanted to carry additional infielders. Given a choice between Goodwin, Christensen, and Dave Roberts, named the starting centerfielder at the end of Spring Training, I'd probably advise they keep Goodwin. They are all relatively similar players, and while the 29-year-old Roberts may have more upside than the 33-year-old Goodwin, it is a marginal difference. Considering they have to pay Goodwin's over $3.25M salary, along with a $500K buyout of his 2003 contract, they might as well stick with him. I don't normally advocate keeping a guy based strictly upon his paycheck, but when the alternatives aren't really an upgrade, there's little reason not to keep the high-priced player.

As for Trombley, they would have been better off cutting Jesse Orosco and only keeping one left-hander, Terry Mulholland, until they could find a trade. Given that Trombley is a former closer, there should have been at least one team with enough interest to net a marginal prospect or bench player if the Dodgers would absorb part of Trombley's $2M salary.

Greene, Martinez and Pose provide the team with nice additional depth at AAA in case of injury.