Montreal traded 3B Chris Truby to Detroit for UT Jose Macias on Thursday. The Expos acquired Truby from Houston in March as a fill-in at 3B while Fernando Tatis recovered from his injuries. Montreal activated Tatis at the end of April and his play seems to indicate that he is currently healthy, so the Expos no longer needed to hold onto Truby.

After admitting Dean Palmer won't return to play third base this season, Detroit felt the need to add someone as Craig Paquette has been slumping recently. Truby will take over as the starting third baseman, while Paquette will likely return to a utility role.

Meanwhile, despite Macias' positional flexibility, the Tigers prefer to use alternative players all of the positions at which he could potentially start. Consequently, when the majority of their players are healthy, Detroit doesn't have enough at-bats for Macias.

Macias began his career in the Montreal organization, signing with the Expos as a nondrafted free agent in 1992. He then spent five seasons in their minor league system, three in Rookie ball and two in A-ball, before Detroit grabbed him in the 1996 Rule 5 minor league draft. His return to the organization likely finishes Peter Bergeron's hopes to stick as the starting centerfielder.

Montreal demoted Bergeron last week, calling up Endy Chavez to cover centerfield. Unfortunately, Chavez's bat has been somewhat dormant since his promotion. He has a 1:4 BB:K and only 6 hits, though 3 doubles, in 33 at-bats, for a measly .182 BA, .206 OBP, and a .273 SLG.

Macias should take over the starting job in center field and will most likely assume the leadoff duties as well. Although his major league strike zone judgment hasn't quite been able to match some of his very impressive minor league plate discipline, Macias still has a fairly good command of the plate. He hasn't shown a lot of power in his career, but he possesses good speed, making him a definite asset at the top of the lineup, particularly when he's utilizing his batting eye skills. While I'm disappointed in Bergeron's lost opportunity, I think Macias should be an asset to the Expos

This trade is the first completed by Dan Dombrowski since the Detroit President fired Randy Smith and took over the GM duties in early April. Trading Macias made sense given that they don't see him as a part of their long-term plans. Damian Easley seems entrenched at 2B, and the Tigers have several middle infield prospects in their system, including Omar Infante and Ramon Santiago. Also, though he's not currently in the majors, Detroit wants Andres Torres in centerfield. However, I'm not certain that they needed to add Chris Truby as they had players who could adequately cover the position and don't need to worry about playoff contention this season.

A number of other trades have been announced recently, though they all involve a PTBNL or future considerations. Toronto dealt LHP Pedro Borbon to Houston for a player to be named later on Wednesday. The Blue Jays have been looking to trade a lefty reliever since the start of the off-season. Prior to this deal, they were carrying four: Borbon, Scott Eyre, Felix Heredia, and Dan Plesac. Trading Borbon has the added benefit of dumping a portion of his $1.6M contract, though Toronto is reportedly still covering half of the lefty's outstanding salary.

Houston was searching for another lefty reliever, as closer Billy Wagner was previously the only left-handed pitcher in their bullpen and one of only two southpaws on the staff, along with Carlos Hernandez in the rotation. Borbon will provide them with a specialist.

The player to be named later will come from either AA or A ball, though Toronto can wait until November before finalizing their selection. While they won't receive a prime prospect in this trade, the Blue Jays will still likely acquire a quality player, making the deal good for both teams.

Cincinnati traded OF Anthony Sanders to the White Sox yesterday for future considerations. Toronto drafted Sanders out of high school in the seventh round of the 1992 draft. Seattle claimed the outfielder off waivers from the Blue Jays in 2000 but released him at the end of April last season. As a result, the 28-year-old outfielder spent most of last year in Japan. He's had a few major league call-ups but really owns none of the offensive skills that could potentially keep him on a big league roster. His plate discipline is generally poor and he's shown only sporadic speed and power that don't appear likely to develop into anything more consistent without further improvement in his strike zone judgment. I highly doubt he'll see time with Chicago, as they have a number of promising outfield prospects that could be called up if any of their current regulars falls victim to injury.

Montreal acquired OF Quincy Foster from the Marlins on Sunday for a PTBNL. Florida drafted Foster out of Spartanburg Methodist South Carolina Junior College in the 64th round of the 1995 draft. The 27-year-old outfielder hasn't advanced past AA, but his plate discipline has begun to show improvement recently, which bodes well for his potential as his speed seems to be his primary asset. With the acquisition of Macias, I don't expect Foster to see time with the Expos this season, but he might be an option as a 5th outfielder in a year or two if his strike zone judgment continues to improve after some AAA time.

Finally, last week the Red Sox traded RHP Mike Drumright to Baltimore for a player to be named later. The 28-year-old has spent the majority of the last five years starting at AAA, though he occasionally has worked out of the pen. His control problems range from troubling to severe. Drumright's other numbers, including his strikeouts, are similarly inconsistent, so though he has at times shown promise, it seems unlikely that he'll be able to keep all of his skills in order long enough to make an impact in the majors at any point.

There were a few more trades for players to be named later at the end of Spring Training. At the time I decided to hold off covering them until the players were named, however I may spend a day on them sometime in the next few weeks as it could be sometime before the rest of the players change hands. I hope to comment whenever the players completing these trades are announced.