Yesterday, Cincinnati traded 3B-S Damaso Espino and OF-R Alan Moye to Kansas City for RHP Jeff Austin and OF-L/LHP Brian Shackelford. Let's look at the players involved in order to put the trade in perspective.

The Reds signed Espino as a nondrafted free agent out of Panama in 1999. He spent 2000 and 2001 with the Reds' Rookie level Gulf Coast League team. Espino returned to the GCL for most of 2002 but also received a brief call-up to AA. The only offensive skill the 19-year-old has displayed to date has been a little baserunning ability. He should receive an opportunity to play full-season ball this year and his youth gives him some time to develop, however we won't have a good idea of whether he'll amount to anything for several years.

Cincinnati drafted Moye out of high school with their third round pick of the 2001 draft. Moye spent the remainder of the 2001 season with the Reds' GCL team. Last season he moved to their Rookie level Pioneer League team at Billings. His plate discipline appears to need significant work, however he offers at least marginal power and interesting speed skills. The 20-year-old should advance to full season ball this year, but he's far too low in the development system to accurately predict his upside.

Kansas City drafted Austin out of Stanford University with the 4th overall pick of the first round of the 1998 draft. Austin doesn't appear to have the necessary command when starting to hold a major league job, however a move to the bullpen has allowed him to display skills worthy of a major league roster spot. Last season at AAA, Austin compiled a 44:15 K:BB with 54 H and 2 HR allowed in 52 IP.

The Royals drafted Shackelford out of the University of Oklahoma with their 13th round pick of the 1998 draft. For the first three seasons of his professional career, he worked solely as an offensive player, displaying moderate power and little plate discipline through A+ Wilmington in the Carolina League. In 2001, the Royals began experimenting with using him as a left-handed reliever while continuing to play him in the outfield. Shackelford has not yet given any indication that the change of direction will be his ticket to the majors, as last season he compiled a 15:26 K:BB with 23 H and 1 HR allowed in 25.2 IP for a 3.51 ERA over 22 appearances at AA Wichita in the Texas League. Given the Reds' fondness for outfielders, I wouldn't be surprised if they discontinued his pitching work. I certainly don't expect him to debut in the majors as the next Brooks Kieschnick any time soon.

I firmly believe that Jeff Austin was the best choice to fill Kansas City's closer opening. Although the Royals have no chance of making a playoff run this season, fielding a solid closer is important for the team as they will have a high number of young pitchers in their rotation who require bullpen protection. Mike MacDougal is the favorite for the job, but he compiled a 30:55 K:BB in 53 IP at AAA and 14:24 K:BB in 18 IP at AA last year. A 2.39 ERA and 10 Saves on a 29:12 K:BB in 26.1 IP for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican Winter League isn't a sufficient reason to ignore his terrible minor league skills. I will give his supporters the benefit of the doubt and say he possesses intriguing future potential, but the 25-year-old clearly needs additional development time to mature.

Now the Royals best remaining choice seems to be Jeremy Hill. Regrettably, while he posted a solid 80:32 K:BB with 61 H and 4 HR allowed in 76.1 IP for a 2.36 ERA at AA Wichita last year, he has no AAA experience. The Royals drafted him out of high school as a catcher with their fifth round pick of the 1996 draft, switching him to pitching after five seasons behind the plate, so the 25-year-old has pitched professionally for only two seasons. Hill's AA numbers display potential control difficulties that could deteriorate if he's rushed, making him unworthy of the closer job. Consequently, Kansas City's wisest course is to let veteran Jason Grimsley close until one of the other pitchers displays skills worthy of the job, as they don't need to worry about ruining the 35-year-old Grimsley's potential. Unfortunately, while Austin likely would have handled the job effectively, Grimsley will be lucky to be adequate.

I also should mention that no other player in Royals' history has received a bigger draft bonus than the $2.7M Austin received when Kansas City drafted him. With this trade, that money goes down the drain. By making Austin their closer for a season, they also would have increased his trade value.

In exchange for Austin, who had more value to the Royals than any other franchise, Kansas City received two position players in rookie ball. An article by MLB.com writer Robert Falkoff helps shed some light on the Royals' faulty rationale. Falkoff quotes Royals' GM Alaird Baird as saying, Austin's "opportunity is greater with Cincinnati, so it's a good fit for him . . . We had some pitchers who are ahead of him on the depth chart. We looked at our strength - pitching. And the low-level center field position is one where we felt very strongly that if we could get a premium-type center fielder projection, we would be willing to do something . . . That's a premium position. You need the pipeline to be full." Obviously, Kansas City failed to recognize Austin's potential to solve their closer problems while placing an absurd amount of value on Moye. Players at Moye's stage of development should be welcome as thrown-ins, but targeting them is ridiculous. Teams should either pick them up in the draft or wait until the players have an established record of accomplishment at least in full-season ball, preferably in AA. The Royals picked three times in the 2001 draft before Cincinnati drafted Moye with the 96th pick, subsequently awarding him a $400,000 bonus. If they wanted a center fielder so badly, they shouldn't have wasted the #9 pick and $2.4M on RHP Colt Griffin, or the 53rd pick and $1.75 on OF-L Roscoe Crosby, who appears unlikely to give up football.

Sadly, this trade might work out badly for both teams. As Austin has an option remaining, the Reds seem inclined to send him to AAA, where they plan to attempt to revive his starting career by having him increase his use of his curveball. This idea strikes me as potentially disastrous, since in the unlikely event they're able demonstrate he can start successfully with this alteration, the increased use of his curveball will amplify his risk of injury. Meanwhile, he has the ability to improve their bullpen now, teaming with Luke Hudson to provide multiple innings of effective middle relief.

Cincinnati also chose to send Bruce Chen through waivers to clear room on the 40-man roster for the addition of Austin. Although Chen went unclaimed, he will now have the option of requesting free agency rather than accepting his AAA assignment. He has not yet made his decision, but I'll be quite amazed if the Scott Boras client doesn't opt to seek out a team with a major league opening. Florida could use a lefty and that would complete his tour of the NL East, though Tampa Bay would be another option, as I suspect he'll work inexpensively at this point. Of course few teams need an established left-hander more than the Royals, but Kansas City is unlikely to partially salvage this deal by adding Chen, who arguably possesses both more immediate potential and long-term upside than anyone involved in the trade.