On Monday, Montreal traded Scott Stewart to Cleveland for Ryan Church and Maicer Izturis. The Expos didn't want to absorb the raise Stewart is set to receive in his first off-season of arbitration eligibility, while the Indians were interested in adding a high quality left-hander to their pen.

Stewart's numbers slipped a little last year, as he was still recovering from off-season surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow when the year opened and then he missed much of the second half following an appendectomy. However, neither of those problems should follow him into 2004. We can expect his strikeout rate to rebound, re-establishing him as a threat to batters swinging on either side of the plate. Cleveland will probably consider him as second in line for save opportunities behind Bob Wickman, who could easily falter in his return from Tommy John. However, since he wasn't closing last year, he shouldn't cost the Indians too much more than a million dollars.