Two small trades were completed earlier this week. Boston traded LHP Andy Hazlett to San Diego for LHP Juan Moreno on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Hazlett was converted from starting to relief work in 2000 and split last season between AA and AAA.

Hazlett reportedly doesn't throw very hard but has pitched well at every level. I'm unsure why Boston chose to move him to the pen. He doesn't strike out a huge number of batters, but he does generally manage to retire at least 6/9 IP with strikeouts, and all of his other numbers are great. If San Diego leaves him in relief, he could probably be a competent left-handed reliever in the majors right now. However if they wanted him to return to starting, they might be able to add another quality lefty starter to their rotation after he's seen a season to a season and a half of AAA time.

He can't be considered a great prospect due to his age and the extra time he would probably need at this point to work as a starter, but the Padres have acquired a pitcher with high upside. Given that they made the deal because they wanted to clear room on the 40-man roster and had already DFA'd Moreno, San Diego did very well.

Moreno has been traded twice this year; both times the team trading him had previous DFA'd Moreno and was simply looking to trade him rather than lose him on waivers for nothing. He's an acceptable 27-year-old left-handed reliever with no additional upside. Boston plans to send Moreno to AAA where he will provide them with an injury replacement.

On Monday, San Francisco traded Calvin Murray to the Rangers for cash considerations. San Francisco was able to make this trade in part because they signed Tom Goodwin to a minor league contract last week. They wanted to activate Damon Minor from the DL and needed to clear a spot on the 25-man roster. With Goodwin in the minors, the team didn't need to carry an extra centerfielder on the major league club behind Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Marvin Benard.

Texas executed this particular purchase in order to address some of the problems caused by their poor luck with injuries this spring. Carl Everett has had some troubles with his right knee, which still hasn't fully recovered from off-season surgery. While he doesn't need to spend time on the DL, his fielding in center has been hampered so that he's likely better off playing a less strenuous defensive position at least for the next several games.

Gabe Kapler is usually capable of covering centerfield, but he has been bothered by a strained oblique and recently missed several games. Although he's shown improvement and likely won't be placed on the DL, the Rangers won't want him exerting himself in center either.

Everett will shift to right field until Juan Gonzalez returns from the DL. The Rangers reportedly hope to have Gonzalez back in the next 10 days. Depending on how everyone feels at that time, Everett will either shift back to center or compete for LF and DH at-bats. Kapler, Frank Catalanotto, and Rusty Greer are already sharing the two positions, with Catalanotto also stealing some time at second base from Mike Young.

As long as there are no physical impediments, I suspect Everett will at least start most games in center and Murray will be used as a defensive replacement later in the game. Murray's fielding skills may be an asset to the Rangers, but they'll want to avoid having his bat in the line-up for extended intervals. He's shown some power and considerable speed in the past but doesn't have the consistent plate discipline necessary to take advantage of those skills.

I tend to think this was a good trade for both teams. The Giants picked up some cash for a player they probably would have lost on waivers and Texas filled a need without losing a prospect. San Francisco might have been able to pick up a prospect elsewhere, but this way they know exactly what they're receiving. They selected Murray with the seventh overall pick of the 1992 draft.

Texas sent down Francisco Cordero and Jason Romano on Monday. As expected, they also placed Ivan Rodriguez on the DL. Murray took one of the available roster spots. John Rocker was recalled from AAA, where he had yet to report since being sent down last week. He won't resume his closing duties, but with all of the injuries to the team he's still one of their better pitchers, so he'll simply be used as a lefty reliever.

The Rangers also called up LHP Randy Flores. The 26-year-old has spent most of his minor league time as a starter with only a few innings above AA. However, Texas plans to use him as a lefty-specialist during this call-up. Considering they just recalled Rocker and still have Chris Michalak on the roster, I'm a little surprised by this decision.