We discussed the Cincinnati/Florida segment of Thursday's trade yesterday, along with why the Expos are the team making trades for a playoff run when the Marlins were likely in a better position. Today we will focus on the portion of the trade that sent OF Cliff Floyd, IF Wilton Guerrero, RHP Claudio Vargas, and cash to the Expos for RHP Carl Pavano, LHP Graeme Lloyd, RHP Justin Wayne, IF Mike Mordecai and a PTBNL.

Cliff Floyd provides the Expos lineup with needed additional punch. They were fairly well situated with the production of Jose Vidro, Orlando Cabrera, and Vladimir Guerrero but were coming up a bit short due to the lack of even an average bat in LF or at 1B.

If Montreal wants to protect Floyd's knees, they may have him split time between first base and left field depending on whether they want Troy O'Leary or Andres Galarraga in the lineup on a particular night. Floyd can play first when the left-handed O'Leary starts against right-handers, and he can return to left to keep Galarraga in the lineup against lefties. This acquisition most affects the playing time of Wil Cordero and Jose Macias, though Macias' ability to play the infield should open up more opportunities for him.

In Florida, even if Juan Encarnacion continues to play as he has in the first half, he will replace barely a third of Floyd's production this year. Due to HR and RBI totals comparable to Floyd, Encarnacion is perceived to provide considerably more offense than he actually does. However, the remainder of his stats show a large gap between the two players' production. Encarnacion's strike zone judgment also puts even his moderate level of production at risk. The Marlins were likely wise to move Floyd, as he's eligible for free agency this off-season, and they weren't interested in paying to re-sign him. Encarnacion is in his second season of arbitration eligibility, so while his price will likely increase, he'll be a much less expensive option as the Marlins build their team.

Wilton Guerrero, who the Marlins passed on to the Expos from the Dempster deal, will take over Mordecai's role. Mordecai worked off the bench for Montreal, spending time at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, and LF this season. Although neither player is much of an offensive threat, the Expos gain a little speed and lose a little plate discipline.

With Andy Fox filling in for the injured Alex Gonzalez at SS, Mordecai can fill Florida's opening for a utilityman. The Marlins placed their starting shortstop on the DL in late May with a separated left shoulder. His recovery has been slow and it's still possible that Gonzalez will have surgery on the joint before the end of the season.

Claudio Vargas was more than just a minor league throw-in. Florida signed the right-handed starting pitcher out of the Dominican Republic as a nondrafted free agent in 1995. He excelled in the A+ Florida State League in 2000 and at AA Portland in the Eastern League last season. Vargas started to have some difficulties with homers last season and has really been bitten by them following his promotion this season to AAA Calgary in the Pacific Coast League. In 76 IP, he has a 61:35 K:BB with 88 H and 18 HR allowed. He will need to curtail those homers and slightly refine his control before he's ready for the majors but still has starting upside, though perhaps in mid-to-late 2003 rather than this September.

Montreal sent the 26-year-old Carl Pavano to the minors in late June when they tired of him allowing excessive numbers of home runs in his starts. An elevated HR/9 and minor control problems, caused in part by repeated injuries, have prevented Pavano from experiencing success in the Expos' rotation the last few seasons. The trip to AAA seems to have done Pavano some good as he's only allowed 23 H and 2 HR in 20.1 IP with a 9:2 K:BB while at Ottawa in the International League. However, his past struggles leave him too dangerous for a team in the playoff hunt.

Perhaps the change of organizations will allow him to make a new start in the Florida rotation. Provided he doesn't slide into old habits, he should shore up the bottom of the promising Marlins' rotation we discussed yesterday. His presence should also take the pressure off of some of their developing pitchers, who've been asked to start due to injuries to older members of the rotation.

Graeme Lloyd is not happy with being traded to a team owned by Jeffery Loria. As a member of Loria's Expos, he grew to dislike the owner. Reportedly, Florida was actually one of the teams on his limited no-trade list, but the list was not submitted by the deadline specified in his contract and therefore did not have to be honored by Montreal. Consequently, Lloyd finds himself in a very unpleasant and unnecessary situation. Players hold some responsibility for keeping track of such things, but if Lloyd employs an agent, that person should be fired and forced to pay Lloyd considerable damages. The only bright side of his situation is that I see little reason for Florida not to trade him in the next month, as the lefty should fetch a nice price on the trade market from teams in the playoff race. I expect him to be exchanged for prospects in the near future.

Montreal drafted Justin Wayne out of Stanford University with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2000 draft. The Expos sent him straight to Jupiter in the A+ Florida State league after he signed. He put up impressive numbers in five starts there that season and then returned in 2001 to demonstrate equally high skill levels through another 7 starts before his promotion to AA Harrisburg in the Eastern League. Despite only 87 H, 4 HR, and a 70:34 K:BB in 93 IP at Harrisburg last season, he returned there this season. Unfortunately, Wayne's not been as successful during this second trip through the league, as his K:BB has dropped to 47:32 in 98.2 IP with 74 H and 7 HR allowed. I think he should still develop into a major league starter, but expectations have been somewhat lowered. He also has suffered from a tired arm in the past, leaving some concern about his future health.

I'm not surprised that the Marlins would target Montreal prospects considering Florida's front office consists primarily of personnel Marlins' owner Jeffery Loria brought with him from his former franchise.

We knew from comments made at the time of the trade that the PTBNL was a pitcher and a substantial piece of the package. Many originally believed the player to be Montreal's first round pick last season, Josh Karp, however Baseball America claims to have confirmed that Donald Levinski is the player to be named later.

The Expos drafted Levinski out of Texas' Wimar High School with their second round pick of last season's draft. He can't officially be traded until a year after he signed (August 4, 2001), and so Montreal had to include him as a PTBNL. Levinski's tearing up the A Midwest League at Clinton this season, allowing only 69 H and 5 HR in 100.2 IP with a 106:46 K:BB. I expect the Marlins to jump him to A+ as soon as he changes organizations. He'll turn 20 in October and adds yet another high-upside pitcher to the Florida system.

As the Marlins received more major leaguers than they traded, Florida demoted Pablo Ozuna to make room for one of the new players on the roster. Ozuna's bounced between AAA and the majors three times this season, receiving minimal at-bats. The club can wait to demote Oswaldo Mairena until Graeme Lloyd joins the team. The additional time in AAA should be good for Mairena, who hasn't quite been ready for his major league role this season.

Considering Florida had no intention of giving Floyd a contract extension, they did a good job of turning him into players that will help them in the future. My only concern about the organization is that they seem to continue to postpone the time when they plan to contend.

Normally I would chastise Montreal for giving up this much future value for a player that may not even get them to the playoffs. However given the unique circumstances of the franchise, I fully believe that winning as much as possible this season is the best course of action for the Expos.