The Chicago Cubs traded catcher Robert Machado to Milwaukee for OF Jackson Melian on Sunday. I'm quite pleased the Cubs were able to trade Machado, as he needed to depart the roster and Chicago didn't want to merely give him away on waivers. The Brewers were in need of another catcher after injuries to starter Raul Casanova and back-up Paul Bako.

Casanova tore a ligament in his elbow in mid-May and won't be back until the end of June at the earliest and possibly not until after the All-Star break. Bako took over for Casanova but recently dislocated the pinky finger on his right hand, leading to his own DL trip. Although Bako will likely only need a couple weeks to recover, the Brewers wanted an alternative behind the plate to Marcus Jensen, who was called up to serve as the second string when Casanova went down.

Machado doesn't have great plate discipline but he offers a bit of power. Milwaukee signed Sal Fasano to a minor league deal last week. Fasano's a year older than Machado and has less plate discipline but more power; both have good defensive reputations. I'm really not certain why the Brewers chose to make this trade as Fasano seems very similar to Machado and was available without the cost of a minor leaguer with some potential.

The Yankees signed Melian out of Venezuela as a nondrafted free agent in 1996, then traded him to the Reds in 2000 with 3B Drew Henson, RHP Brian Reith, and LHP Ed Yarnall for LHP Denny Neagle and OF Mike Frank. Milwaukee picked him up off of waivers from the Reds this spring when Cincinnati attempted to move him off the forty-man roster to make room for Joey Hamilton.

The 22-year-old has struggled with his plate discipline while only displaying moderate power and speed skills during his minor league career. Melian began 2000 at AA Norwich in the Eastern League, but after the trade he moved to AA Chattanooga in the Southern League. He was with Chattanooga for his entire stay with the Reds, though he missed much of his 2000 time with them due to hamstring problems. Milwaukee placed him with Huntsville, their team in the SL, so this is essentially his third season in AA. So far this season, he has 41 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, and 6 HR in 184 AB with a 35:63 BB:K and 10/13 SB% for a .223 BA, .362 OBP, and .364 SLG. The main improvement here has been in his walk rate, which more than doubled from last season, though his strikeout rate has also increased by 2/3.

While he never should have been compared to Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns, he's still young enough that he should be able to develop into at least a fourth outfielder with the chance of a breakout season when one of the regulars on his team gets injured. He's a nice pick up for the Cubs in return for Machado.

Tim's offered the following scenario as a possible explanation for the trade, though it's more likely the Brewers simply chose to give the appearance that they were receiving something in return for Melian rather than designating someone for assignment and possibly losing that player on waivers to make room for Fasano on the 40-man roster:

"Bud, it's Andy. I've spent so much time helping you out with these CBA negotiations recently that I've neglected my GM duties, so I need a small favor. You might have noticed that we've kept three catchers on our roster for a while. Well, we'd like to move Robert Machado, and we'd only need a decent AA outfielder in return."

"Hold on, Andy. I'll call Wendy."

*Phone rings in Milwaukee*

"Hello?"

"Wendy darling, it's Dad. Andy needs a favor (Andy: Hi, Wendy. Wendy: Hi, Andy). He noticed you need a backup catcher. Could you take Machado off his hands for a decent AA outfielder."

"But, DAAAAAAD, we just signed a backup catcher. Sal Fasano! I TOLD you about him last night! Why don't you ever listen to me?!?"

"Wendy, you listen to me now. Andy's helped this family out in the past, so if he needs a favor, you give it to him. Now deal him a prospect instead of a journeyman to apologize, or I'll take my Brewers' shares out of that blind trust and run the team again."

"Ok, Daddy. Bye."

"Andy, you can have that Melian kid that used to be an overhyped Yankees' prospect, ok?"

"Ok, Bud; thanks for the help."

Back to more serious topics, when placing Bako on the DL Sunday, Milwaukee also returned Chad Fox to the disabled list. At the end of May, the Brewers activated Fox from the DL, where he's been since the start of the season due to elbow problems. However shortly after his return to the team, Fox began experiencing problems with his shoulder. He's been diagnosed with a strained rotator cuff and likely won't return before the All-Star break. Depending on the extent of the injury, he could be out longer.

The Brewers called up Jayson Durocher to replace Fox on the roster. The 27-year-old right-handed reliever has split the last three seasons between AA and AAA. He's demonstrated good dominance and command but struggled with his control, keeping him in the minors. As long as the Brewers quickly pull him from games once he begins to allow walks, Durocher should be able to provide some assistance to the Milwaukee pen, though not as much as they'd hoped for from Fox.