By Jim Callis
December 1, 2003

After dumping salary in Friday's Curt Schilling trade with the Red Sox, the Diamondbacks added payroll on Monday. Completing a deal that had been rumored for a while, Arizona picked up slugger Richie Sexson as well as Shane Nance and a player to be named later from Milwaukee. In exchange, the Brewers received a lot more quantity than quality: big leaguers Junior Spivey, Lyle Overbay, Chad Moeller, Craig Counsell and Chris Capuano, plus Triple-A lefthander Jorge de la Rosa, who was acquired from Boston in the Schilling transaction.

The move definitely will upgrade Arizona's offense, which ranked 10th in the National League in 2003. Sexson outhomered Arizona's first basemen (who included Overbay) 45-13 this season. Youngsters Matt Kata and Alex Cintron will get full-time shots in the middle infield, making Spivey and Counsell expendable, while Robbie Hammock's emergence at catcher similarly made Moeller redundant.

It's harder to understand this move from Milwaukee's perspective. The Brewers' primary goal seems to be achieving a $30 million payroll in 2004, and Sexson would have departed as a free agent after making $8 million in the upcoming season. But they also had to absorb Counsell's bloated contract ($3.15 million in 2004; $3.75 million or $250,000 buyout in 2005) and Spivey will make $2,367,500 next season, so they save little more than $2 million. It's also hard to foresee many of these trade acquisitions starting for the Brewers once their bountiful farm system begins churning out big leaguers. Overbay, Spivey and Counsell may hold down three spots in Milwaukee's 2004 infield, but they're not going to hold off Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy in the long run.

Sexson, 28, is one of the game's best first basemen and made the NL all-star team in 2002 and 2003. He batted .272/.379/.548 with 45 homers and 124 RBIs in 2003, finishing second in the NL in homers and reaching the 45-homer plateau for the second time in three seasons. He has developed more patience at the plate, as his walk totals and on-base percentages have risen in each of his three full years with the Brewers. His only offensive drawback is a propensity for strikeouts, as he has averaged 156 per year since becoming a regular, but that's an acceptable tradeoff for his power. He's not flashy, but he's a solid defender and baserunner. In 813 career games, he has hit .273/.349/.526 with 191 homers and 593 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if Arizona can sign him to a long-term deal or will let him become a free agent after 2004.

Spivey, 28, was an all-star in 2002 but slumped in 2003, batting .255/.326/.433 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs in 106 games. He missed a month with a torn ligament in his left ankle and shared time with Kata after he returned. He has the ability to bat .280 with 20 homers a year, but became too longball-happy this year and his plate discipline deteriorated (95 strikeouts, 33 walks). He has good speed but isn't a basestealing threat, and his hands are a liability at second base. The Diamondbacks discussed making him a full-time outfielder but never followed through on that plan. He's a career .279/.363/.453 hitter with 34 homers and 149 RBIs in 321 games.

Overbay, 26, was disappointing after taking over for Mark Grace at first base for Arizona this year. He hit .276/.365/.402 with four homers and 28 RBIs in 86 games, eventually losing the job to Shea Hillenbrand and getting demoted to Triple-A Tucson. Overbay is a career .342 hitter in the minors, but scouts don't think his approach and swing are conducive to hitting home runs. He draws a fair amount of walks, and has an offensive ceiling of a Grace. Overbay is an average defender but doesn't run well.

De la Rosa, 22, had been the Red Sox' best pitching prospect before they traded him for Schilling. He originally signed out of Mexico in 1998 with the Diamondbacks, who sold his contract to their Mexican League affiliate, the Monterrey Sultans in 2000. When Arizona's working agreement with Monterrey expired after that season, the Sultans kept de la Rosa's rights and sold him to Boston in February 2001. The Red Sox signed him for $600,000, and then-GM Dan Duquette dubbed him "the Mexican John Rocker" because he was a hard-throwing lefty reliever. De la Rosa still can light up a radar gun from 90-95 mph, but he has shown enough stuff to possibly become a big league starter. He also has a curveball that's a plus pitch at times, and his changeup has made significant improvement. He appeared in the Futures Game in 2003, when he went 7-5, 2.98 in 27 games (25 starts) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. In 124 innings, he had a 119-48 strikeout-walk ratio and held hitters to a .245 average and six homers. He'll probably begin the 2004 season in Triple-A.

Moeller, 28, never has been a regular catcher in the majors but could hold down that role for Milwaukee in 2004. He spent all of 2003 in the big leagues, hitting .268/.335/.435 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 78 games. He's more of an offensive catcher, capable of hitting .260-.270 with 10-15 homers, and he'll draw his share of walks as well. Defensively he's a competent receiver but throwing out runners isn't his strength. He caught just 23 percent of basestealers this year. He has career totals of .254/.325/.390 with 11 homers and 56 RBIs in 188 games.

Counsell, 33, is best-suited to be a utilityman but may start at shortstop for the Brewers. Hampered by a torn thumb ligament, he's coming off a bad year at the plate: .234/.328/.304 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 89 games. His best offensive tools are his ability to handle the bat and get on base. He runs well enough to steal a few bases (11 in 15 attempts in 2003) and to handle second base, third base and shortstop. He's a career .266/.349/.351 hitter with 16 homers and 188 RBIs in 658 games. Counsell is best known for his history of playoff heroics. In 1997, he hit a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of Game Seven of the World Series, then scored the championship-winning run for Florida two innings later. In 2001, he was MVP of the NL Championship Series and drew a key hit-by-pitch in Arizona's ninth-inning rally in Game Seven of the World Series.

Capuano, a 25-year-old lefthander, was a 1999 eighth-round pick from Duke. After missing most of 2002 recovering from Tommy John surgery, he made his major league debut in 2003, going 2-4, 4.64 in nine games (five starts). In 33 innings, he had a 23-11 K-BB ratio as opponents hit .233 with three homers. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Tucson, where he went 9-5 with a 3.34 ERA that led Pacific Coast League southpaws. His fastball sat at 87-89 mph in 2003 and topped out at 91. He also throws a slurvy breaking ball, a changeup and a cutter. Because he doesn't have an out pitch, he must rely on location. He projects as a fifth starter or middle reliever and will get a chance to make Milwaukee's pitching staff in spring training.

Nance, a 26-year-old lefty reliever, was a Dodgers 11th-round pick in 2000 out of the University of Houston. He joined the Brewers in a July 2002 trade for Tyler Houston. Nance is one of the smallest pitchers in pro ball, generously listed at 5-foot-8, but that hasn't stopped him from carving up minor league hitters to the tune of a 2.36 ERA. He split 2003 between Triple-A Indianapolis (2-4, 1.38 in 35 appearances) and Milwaukee (0-2, 4.81 in 26 games). His low-90s fastball and his changeup are his two best pitches, and he also throws a so-so curveball. His career mark in the majors is 0-2, 4.70 in 30 games. In 31 innings, he has a 30-14 K-BB ratio and has allowed a .299 average and six homers. If he can trust his stuff, he can find a niche as a lefty reliever in the majors.

December 15 update: The Diamondbacks received the ninth and final player in the trade, outfielder Gary "Noochie" Varner. A 10th-round pick by the Reds from St. Catharine (Ky.) JC in 2000, Varner has been involved in three deals in the last 17 months. Cincinnati used him as part of a package for Brian Moehler in July 2002, and Detroit swapped him for Alex Sanchez this May. A career .306 hitter in the minors, Varner leveled off in Double-A in 2003, batting .282/.323/.395 with nine homers and 77 RBIs in 124 games between Erie and Huntsville. He has good speed, though his steals dropped from 37 in 2002 to seven this season, and is a sound defensive outfielder in terms of both range and arm. But unless he develops more patience and more power, he won't provide enough offense to be a big league regular.