In the process of stockpiling arms to fill the voids in their porous bullpen, the Mets acquired reliever Brian Stokes from Tampa Bay Wednesday. The Mets surrendered only cash and didn't have to part with any players, indicative that Stokes wasn't high on their radar screen. Stokes, 28, was added to the Mets' 40-man roster, which currently is at 36. Stokes appeared in 59 games last season for the Rays, fourth among rookies in the American League. He was 2-7 with a 7.07 ERA, and in 62 1/3 innings he gave up 49 runs on 90 hits and 25 walks.

The Twins weren't worried about Delmon Young's troubled past. They wanted his bat, and they wanted it badly. Young was traded by Tampa Bay to Minnesota on Wednesday night as part of a six-player deal that sent right-hander Matt Garza to the Rays. In a swap of promising youngsters that's been discussed for weeks, the Twins also gave up starting shortstop Jason Bartlett and minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan while acquiring shortstop Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.

The Mets acquired righthander Brian Stokes from the Rays for cash considerations on Wednesday.

When the Yorvit Torreabla talks broke down, Omar Minaya looked upon the trade market to fill his need for a catcher and found his man in Milwaukee?s Johnny Estrada. The cost of the acquisition was merely Guillermo Mota. In 2007, Estrada will be suiting up for his fourth team in four seasons, moving from Atlanta to Arizona to Milwaukee to Shea. He has been moved to clear room for Brian McCann, Chris Snyder and now Jason Kendall, who will likely be signed within the next few days by Milwaukee. Whenever a player is moved with this much frequency, one has to wonder why. Estrada is four years younger than Paul Lo Duca, the catcher he will replace, has better pop, but is still a below average offensive player. His .715 OPS over the past three seasons ranks him 22nd amongst catchers, just below Lo Duca?s .731. Torrealba, the Mets? intended target, is even worse with a .692 OPS during the time span. Estrada, a switch-hitter who is nearly 60 points better as a lefty, will likely sit against lefties in favor of Ramon Castro. By only dealing Mota, the Mets also manage to keep their stockpile of prospects for a larger trade, they unload a contract they didn?t want and also bring in an arbitration-eligible player instead of tying themselves to Torrealba longterm. The difference in wins between Estrada and Lo Duca will be negligible. Grade for the Mets: B- Mota, who will make $3.2 million in 2008, had a 1.00 ERA and a 0.833 WHIP in 18 appearances for the Mets in 2006, but was suspended for the 50-games due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. When he returned, Mota posted a 5.76 ERA in 59.3 innings. He drew the ire of Mets fans, but he fared decently in September with a 4.05 ERA. He throws hard and conceivably could close if Francisco Cordero bolts via free agency, but the prospect is undesirable. Signing Kendall to replace Estrada doesn?t seem wise to me. He had a .610 OPS and is a defensive liability, but he will be cheaper and they could catch lightning in a bottle with Mota. Grade for the Brewers: C+

The Mets found a solution to their catching problem today, and they unloaded one of their least successful players from their 2007 club, as well. The Mets acquired Johnny Estrada from the Brewers in return for reliever Guillermo Mota. Estrada, 31, played in 120 games for the Brewers in 2007. He hit 10 homers with a .296 on-base percentage and .403 slugging percentage. Throughout all of his stops -- from Philadelphia to Atlanta, to Arizona, to Milwukaee -- he has earned praise for his handling of pitchers. Estrada will share time behind the plate with Ramon Castro, whom the Mets brought back last week. The Mets signed Mota, 34, to a two-year, $5-million contract last December, despite the fact that Mota failed a test for illegal performance-enhancing drugs and had to open the 2007 season with a 50-game suspension. The right-hander wound up compiling a 2-2 record and 5.76 ERA in 52 appearances and became the face of the Mets' late-season bullpen meltdown.

The Tampa Bay Rays added four minor league players to the 40-man roster today, designated two players for assignment, and traded outfielder Chris Snelling to the Philadelphia Phillies for cash considerations. The transactions expand the Rays' 40-man roster to its full capacity. Catcher John Jaso, outfielders Fernando Perez and Jason Pridie, and left-handed pitcher James Houser were each added to the 40-man roster. To make room on the roster, the Rays designated right-handed pitcher Brian Stokes and left-handed pitcher Jon Switzer for assignment. The club has 10 days to trade, release, or outright each pitcher. Stokes, 28, compiled a 2-7 record and a 7.07 ERA in 59 appearances for the Rays this year. Switzer, also 28, went 0-2 with an 8.05 ERA in 21 outings in 2007. He made 68 appearances during parts of four seasons with the Rays, amassing a 2-4 record with a 6.11 ERA. Jaso, 24, spent the 2007 campaign with Double-A Montgomery and set career highs with a .316 batting average, 71 RBI, 59 walks, and a .408 on-base percentage. He ranked second in the Southern League and third in the Rays' organization in hitting this year and was honored by Baseball America as a Double-A All-Star. The 12th-round selection in 2003 out of Southwestern College has hit .300 or better in each of the past four seasons. The switch-hitting Perez, 24, is a product of Columbia University (NY) and was acquired in the seventh round of the 2004 June Draft. He joined Jaso on the 2007 Baseball America Double-A All-Star team after hitting .308 with 32 steals, a .423 on-base percentage and 84 runs for Montgomery. Perez has stolen 146 bases in four minor league seasons and was named his team?s player of the year in both 2005 for Southwest Michigan and 2006 for Visalia. Pridie, 24, split the year between Montgomery and Triple-A Durham and was named the 20th-best prospect in the International League after the season by Baseball America. The left-handed batter combined to hit .303 with 14 home runs, 26 stolen bases, 32 doubles and 11 triples. He was a second-round selection in the 2002 June Draft. A second-round draft pick in 2003 out of Sarasota (Fla.) High School, Houser went 5-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 20 starts for Montgomery this season. In 103.2 innings, the southpaw struck out 90 batters, yielded 88 hits and 39 walks, and held opponents to a .230 batting average. Houser owns a career record of 28-21 with a 3.84 ERA over five minor league seasons and was Southwest Michigan?s Pitcher of the Year in 2005. Snelling, 26, had been claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics on October 25. Over parts of four seasons playing for Washington, Oakland, and Seattle, the Australian has a career .240 batting average in 89 games.

In a win-win deal, White Sox GM Ken Williams was able to turn a 4.41 career ERA starting pitcher into one of the best all-around shortstops in all of baseball on Monday when he dealt Jon Garland to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera and cash. But what is perplexing is that the White Sox just re-signed Juan Uribe to a one-year, $4.5 million contract. He is now very expendable and the November 8th signing could end up looking like an old fashioned NBA sign-and-trade. The White Sox might have won the 2005 World Series behind the strength of their starting pitching, but in 2007, they were dead last in runs scored in the AL with 693. Cabrera, who is already 33-years-old, is in the middle of the shortstop pack as a hitter (.292/.340/.400 over the last two seasons), but is a very sure-handed defensive player and is coming off what was probably his finest season in his 11-year career. In 2007, Cabrera had a line of .301/.345/.397 and was responsible for 11% of the Angels? runs scored, second only to Vladimir Guerrero?s 13%. He was productive in key situations, posting an .891 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring positions. Cabrera also won his second Gold Glove in 2007, posting a .983 fielding percentage while manning a more steady than spectacular shortstop. He is entering the final year of his deal and will make $9 million. Grade for White Sox: B This was the first move executed by new Angels? GM Tony Reagins and the addition of the 28-year-old Garland appears to be a precursor to a larger move (i.e. Miguel Cabrera). The Angels already had a very deep rotation with John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders. One of those young pitchers will almost surely be traded as the Angels make a move for an impact bat. Cabrera was also expendable because of the presence of Erick Aybar and Brandon Wood (who has been converted to a third baseman). One of these two players would surely be included in a Miguel Cabrera trade. Garland has been a steady innings-eater starter, with just one season (2005) that would make him amongst the top pitchers in the game. In that season, when he was 6th in Cy Young voting, Garland had a 3.50 ERA and a 1.172 WHIP. He has averaged 207 innings over the past six seasons while walking 2.74 batters per nine innings. Garland has an excellent October record, giving up just four earned runs over 16 innings in his two postseason starts in 2005. The Angels witnessed this first hand in Game 3 at Angel Stadium when he threw a four-hit shutout with his only two runs allowed coming, ironically enough, on a two-run Orlando Cabrera homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning. Playoffs excluded, Garland has a 4.94 career ERA at Angel Stadium over 47.1 innings, but he has a 3.60 ERA at Safeco and a 3.86 ERA at the Oakland Coliseum. Grade for Angels: A- (if they acquire Miguel Cabrera)

The White Sox and Angels completed a major trade Monday, with Chicago acquiring gold glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher Jon Garland. Cabrera, 33, enjoyed a career year in 2007 for the Angels, batting .301 with 35 doubles, 8 home runs and 86 RBIs. He also scored a career-best 101 runs in 155 games. Click here to read RealGM's Grading the Deal

The Athletics on Sunday traded infielder Marco Scutaro to the Blue Jays for a pair of minor league pitchers. Scutaro batted .260 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 104 games this past season. In six seasons with the A's and the Mets, Scutaro has a .259 career batting average with 31 homers and 174 RBI. In return, Oakland received righthanders Kristian Bell and Graham Godfrey from the Blue Jays.

The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros completed a two-player trade this afternoon, as the Braves acquired outfielder Josh Anderson from the Astros in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Oscar Villarreal. Anderson, 25, hit .358 (24-for-67) in 25 games for the Astros this year. He spent the majority of the season at Triple-A Round Rock, where he played all three outfield positions and batted .273 (140-for-513) with 17 doubles and 64 runs scored. He ranked third in the Pacific Coast League with 41 stolen bases. A 2003 fourth-round draft pick, the left-handed hitting outfielder was the MVP of the 2006 Texas League All-Star game, and in that same year he led the league for the second consecutive season in stolen bases and he also ranked first with 173 hits. In 2004 Anderson led all of minor league baseball with 78 stolen bases, and in 2005 he was rated as the best defensive outfielder and the fastest base runner by Baseball America. Villarreal, 26, went 2-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 51 games for Atlanta in 2007.