Milwaukee General Manager Doug Melvin competed the first trade of his new administration late last week. The Brewers sent RHP Gerry Oakes and RHP Matt Yeatman to the Twins for RHP Matt Kinney and C-S Javier Valentin.

Minnesota wasn't certain they wanted either Kinney or Valentin on their 25-man roster all of next season, so since they're both out of options they were available at a discount in trade. Kinney spent close to two months on the disabled list with should soreness last season, but he did not undergo surgery and is reportedly healthy now. Regrettably in addition to his injury trouble, the 25-year-old has struggled with home run and control problems for the past few seasons. If he's healthy, Milwaukee will likely give him a rotation spot, but I don't expect him to experience immediate success in the role, and if he continues to struggle they may want to move him to the bullpen.

The 27-year-old Valentin has considerable power potential despite erratic plate discipline. Milwaukee is likely to non-tender one or both of the arbitration-eligible Paul Bako and Robert Machado, so Valentin probably has the edge on the starting catching position in Spring Training.

Retaining Valentin rather than picking up Tom Prince's option would have given Minnesota a stronger back-up to starting catcher A.J. Pierzynski. However, Matt LeCroy will be available as an emergency back-stop and Joe Mauer will be ready in a couple years.

Milwaukee drafted Oakes out of high school in the 7th round of the 2000 draft. He demonstrated acceptable skills last season with the Brewers Rookie-level Arizona League team, but Oakes completely fell apart at Beloit in the A Midwest league this past season. I've rarely run across minor league numbers this poor. In 113 IP, Oakes compiled a 53:84 K:BB with 136 H and 12 HR allowed for a 7.17 ERA in 27 appearances including 10 starts. (I did not accidentally transpose his strikeouts and walks above, those were his totals.) Perhaps he was suffering from an undisclosed injury and will bounce back, but right now I'm not even certain if a full time move to relief will help the 20-year-old earn eventually earn a place on a A+ team.

Yeatman is another 20-year-old the Brewers selected out of high school in the 2000 draft (13th round). Fortunately, he's has considerably more potential than Oakes. Yeatman compiled a 127:77 K:BB with 101 H and 4 HR allowed in his 127 IP over 25 starts for Beloit. He should progress to A+ with the Twins and although his numbers indicate some control issues, his other skills look sufficiently strong that I expect him to still have prospect status in a couple seasons. Minnesota won't need to rush him to the majors, so I expect the soonest he'd arrive in the big leagues would be 2005.

I think the Brewers received the better end of this deal, but Minnesota picked up one decent pitching prospect and opened up some flexibility on their 40-man roster.

Minnesota added a bonus to the deal by using one of their open 40-man slots to claim OF-R Jeff Deardorff off waivers from Milwaukee. The 24-year-old surprisingly hasn't developed plate discipline in the Brewers' system, but he has notable power potential and moderate speed skills. In addition to the outfield, Deardorff also played the corner infield positions last season at AA Huntsville in the Southern League. With a full season of AAA under a good hitting coach, he could quickly join the swarms of young players vying for time as bench players in Minnesota.

Valentin isn't the only catcher the Brewers have added this off-season. Earlier in the month, Milwaukee signed C-L Cody McKay to a one-year contract. Oakland originally drafted McKay out of Arizona State University in the 9th round of the 1996 draft, and after six seasons in their system, he was a minor league free agent. The 28-year-old has shown excellent plate discipline at times and has moderate power skills. I expect him to compete for the starting catching job in Spring Training and probably win at least a back-up or platoon role.

In addition to giving McKay the major league contract, Milwaukee has signed 2B-R Manny Alexander, OF-L/RHP Brooks Kieschnick, and 3B-R Scott Seabol to minor league deals. You're likely familiar with Alexander as he was in the majors fairly regularly from 1995-2000. Now 31, he's been relegated to AAA roster filler and due to generally weak offensive skills. However, his agent picked a good team for him, as the Brewers have very little depth in the middle infield. Consequently, I expect him to receive consideration in Spring Training and possible make an appearance in the majors as a mid-season injury replacement.

The Cubs originally drafted Kieschnick out of the University of Texas with the 10th overall pick of the first round of the 1993 draft. Although he's spent his minor league time as an outfielder Kieschnick was a pitcher in college and put in 30+ innings as a reliever while also DHing with the White Sox's AAA affiliate at Charlotte. Kieschnick displayed solid skills as a reliever and while his offense has suffered due to poor plate discipline he has useful power. The 30-year-old offers Milwaukee an intriguing option as a reliever and pinch hitter.

At 27, Seabol has similar offensive skills to Kieschnick without the relief gimmick to acquire a major league job for him. However he does possess some positional flexibility, so he makes for handy AAA filler, though I doubt he'll make the majors with the Brewers.