The GM meetings appear to be in full swing as first a trickle of minor deals provided kindling for the hot stove and then yesterday teams really fed the fire with a couple of major trades. After weeks of talks, the Marlins and Rockies agreed to a trade on Thursday in which Florida would send OF Preston Wilson, C Charles Johnson, IF Pablo Ozuna, and LHP Vic Darensbourg to Colorado for LHP Mike Hampton and OF Juan Pierre.

However the traded needed the approval of both Hampton and Johnson, as both had no trade clauses covering the other team. Surprisingly Hampton approved the deal, but Johnson originally declined. After further negotiation, Johnson was persuaded to waive his no-trade clause in exchange for an additional one million dollars to help off set the loss of moving from Florida, which has no state income tax, to Colorado, which does levy a state income tax.

Once that trade was announced, reports surfaced that Hampton would not remain in Florida but will leave shortly for Atlanta with the Marlins receiving RHP Tim Spooneybarger and an unknown mid-level prospect. Given Atlanta is one of the six teams that is an acceptable destination under Hampton's partial no-trade clause, this new information makes it much easier to understand his quick approval of the first trade, as well as the Marlins' willingness to complete the deal with the Rockies. I sincerely doubt Florida would have agreed to the trade with Colorado had the deal with the Braves not been in place.

The catalyzing agent in these two deals was a change of salary burdens. Colorado developed a severe case of buyer's remorse after signing Hampton to the most expensive contract ever given to a pitcher, which has six seasons and $84.5M left on it. Meanwhile Florida was unhappy with the contracts of Johnson and Wilson, who are owed a combined $52.5M over the next three seasons. Colorado will reportedly kick in $5M towards Hampton's salary in the final three seasons of the deal and pay the $6M buyout of the $20M club option for 2009. They're also still responsible for $19M of deferred money from his signing bonus.

In passing Hampton along to Atlanta, Florida will reportedly assume a portion of his salary as well. The Braves are responsible for Hampton's salary totaling $35.5M over the next three seasons. However, the Marlins will add $38M to the $5M from the Rockies to cover the final three seasons of the deal, essentially allowing Atlanta to pay nothing for Hampton from 2006-2008. The above information on the salary breakdown was reported in an article by Atlanta-Journal Constitution Staff Writer David O'Brien.

Now that we have an idea of how the money flowed in this trade we can look at the talent exchanged. Mike Hampton is not a particularly good pitcher. Even before heading to Colorado, his K:BB was under 2, while his K/9 was just barely over 6. In his 22-win season with Houston he only managed a 1.75 K:BB with a 6.66 K/9. However if you average out the money Atlanta will pay him over the 6 years he's under their control, they're only paying around a little over $6M a year. Hampton won't fill Tom Glavine's shoes, but if he can rebound from his 2002 low that salary is not too far past reasonable for a bottom of the rotation left-handed innings eater.

Without knowing the identity of the mid-level prospect, it's difficult to say if the talent cost of acquiring Hampton was too high. Spooneybarger cruised through the minors, demonstrating solid skills at every level. Unfortunately, he hit the majors with a thud this season, compiling only a 33:26 K:BB with 38 H and 4 HR allowed in 51.1 IP for a 2.63 ERA. His excellent minor league performances indicate the 23-year-old should rebound into a quality set-up man. However his performance this past season does present question marks and the Braves are fully capable of finding relief help elsewhere. In Florida, his Spring Training performance will likely determine whether he competes for the closer job in 2003 or if he'll need to fight for a position in the bullpen. Given the salary obligations they picked up during Hampton's brief visit, I hope the Marlins get a decent prospect otherwise this end of the deal isn't overly in their favor.

However when looked at as a part of the larger deal, the Hampton acquisition and trade should work well for Florida. Of all the players on the team, Johnson and Wilson were the two they most wanted to deal, but most observers believed that they'd be hard pressed to find a buyer for even one of the two. Ramon Castro is a better fit for them and now they're free to play him without concern over making an overpaid bench player of Johnson. Meanwhile Pierre won't ever match the power of Wilson, but he has demonstrated stronger on-base skills and could provide the Marlins with a strong leadoff hitter if he remembers the plate patience he displayed in 2001 and discarded in 2002. Pierre's also considerably less expensive at $6.6M over the next three seasons.

Colorado's quest for a catcher has been an ongoing theme of their off-seasons for several years now. Johnson isn't fabulous, but the catcher should put up acceptable offensive numbers with the aid of Coors field and the 31-year-old has a good defensive reputation.

Wilson should be able to handle the Coors outfield defensively and his offensive weaknesses won't be as noticeable at altitude. His power is real and should receive the expected boost from his new home field, although Pierre definitely had the edge in on-base and average skills. The 28-year old should finish out his current contract with sufficient success to trick some dim-witted GM into another big mistake in three years.

Neither Johnson or Wilson will likely earn their salaries, but with contract as bad as Hampton's, you're going to have to take back a couple of bad deals to trade him. The Rockies have gained considerable flexibility by splitting the burden.

The 28-year-old Ozuna spent little time in the majors this season, but performed well at AAA. He's a fine utility infield candidate for the Rockies, though I doubt he'll beat out the competition for a major league job in the spring if he's still with Colorado.

I presume Darensbourg is simply trade bait for the Rockies or he'll free up one of their other lefty relievers as trade bait, since Colorado isn't short on southpaw relievers. The 32-year-old had an off year in 2002, only compiling a 33:26 K:BB with 61 H and 10 HR allowed in 48.1 IP for a 6.15 ERA. While he's pitched better in the past and could rebound, the Marlins had no reason to keep him around.

Overall, I think each team accomplished what they wanted in this trade without giving up anything they desired to keep.

UPDATE: The original information on the division of Hamptons' salary has been updated, so that it is now believed the Braves will pay $2M in 2003, $2M in 2004, $1.5M in 2005, $13.5M in 2006, $14.5M in 2007, and $15M in 2008. In this way, Atlanta has payroll flexibility over the next three years rather than three seasons in the future. Consequently, they're expected to re-sign Tom Glavine who should be much easier to retain than Maddux, who has already left one team when his salary demands were not met.

As now reported, Colorado will contribute $2M in 2003, $2M in 2004, and 2.5M in 2005, as well as the $6M buyout and $19M remaining on the signing bonus. Florida is therefore left covering $9M in 2003, $10M in 2004, and $11M in 2005, which I believe is much better for them, as they'll need the money to spend on their own payroll in three seasons when they could be more serious contenders.

The mid-level minor leaguer has also been identified. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Baker will head to the Marlins. Atlanta signed Baker as a nondrafted free agent out of UNC Charlotte in 2000. The 24-year-old spent the majority of last season relieving at A+ Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League, where he displayed solid skills. Baker could develop into a major league reliever in a couple seasons, but he isn't someone the Braves should mind losing.