Los Angeles GM Dan Evans continues to tweak his roster in an effort to return the team to the top of the NL West. Today, the Dodgers sent LHP Terry Mulholland, RHP Ricardo Rodriguez, and RHP Francisco Cruceta to Cleveland for RHP Paul Shuey.

Acquiring Shuey while dumping Mulholland significantly improves their relief staff. Shuey's one of the most dominant setup men in baseball and Mulholland was the Dodgers' worst reliever. Shuey will assist Paul Quantrill with set up for Eric Gagne in the eighth inning. The Dodgers have called up Victor Alvarez to fill Mulholland's roster spot until Shuey joins the team in Cincinnati on Tuesday. However, Alvarez will likely stay in the majors for a while, as LA wants Guillermo Mota to return to the minors so that he can receive more regular playing time.

The 25-year-old Alvarez signed with the Dodgers as a nondrafted free agent out of Mexico in 1997. He worked his way through the minors and split last season between AA Jacksonville in the Southern League and AAA Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League. This season he's moved from starting to relief at AAA and has an 83:31 K:BB in 94.2 IP with 100 H and 8 HR allowed, including 11 starts in 27 appearances. He's probably a better choice right now than Jesse Orosco as LA's primary lefty.

Mulholland's inclusion in this trade negates the need for Cleveland to send any cash with Shuey, as we've seen when other players with multi-million dollar contracts have been traded this season. While Shuey's in the first year of a three-year deal and is owed over three million for each of the next two seasons, Mulholland is in the final season of his contract and making three million this year. Shuey had to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to go through, but given the Indians' rebuilding mode, the 32-year-old wanted to pitch for a contending team.

Although dumping Mulholland actually benefits the Dodgers, giving up the other two players in the deal was a high price for LA to pay. Ricardo Rodriguez signed with the Dodgers as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1996. From 1997-1999, he played for LA's team in the Dominican Summer League. After spending 2000 in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, the Dodgers promoted Rodriguez to A+ Vero Beach in the Florida State League last season. He began this season at AA Jacksonville, but LA moved him up to AAA Las Vegas after 11 starts in which he compiled a 44:13 K:BB in 68 IP with 56 H and 4 HR allowed. The 21-year-old had only made two starts at AAA at the time of the trade. His dominance fell a bit from A+ to AA but he improved his control and maintained his low H/9. Cleveland is compiling a very impressive group of potential starters through their trades this season.

Cruceta signed with LA as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1999, but he wasn't visible to mainstream prospect watchers last season, pitching for the Dodgers' Dominican Summer League team. This season the Dodgers sent him to A South Georgia in the South Atlantic League. In 112.2 IP, the 21-year-old's compiled a 111:34 K:BB with 98 H and 7 HR allowed. He certainly appears ready for A+ competition no later than the beginning of next season. It is somewhat difficult to judge his upside with only one year in the low minors from which to project. However, Cruceta seems set to continue climbing through the minors with his new team. He likely won't be ready for the majors until late 2005.

As I said earlier, I think the Dodgers significantly improved their pen. Nonetheless, I have concerns about the trade due to his injury history, as well as the uncertainty of LA even making the playoffs. They could very well have traded substantial future talent in an effort that may not get them to the postseason.

Shuey was signed at a reasonable price and would have been a nice component for Cleveland's pen if they were planning on contending next season. However, a rebuilding team wants to make sure the players they carry through from the start of the process will still be productive when they are again ready to contend. Due to Shuey's age and history of injury problems, he's a risky choice to keep. Some observers feel that Shuey should have been kept as a less expensive replacement for Bob Wickman. However while Wickman should also be dealt, the only eventual reason for the Indians to spend any money on their pen in the next few years will be to protect their young starters once they begin to fill out the rotation. The fact that Wickman's currently on the disabled list with a strained forearm likely means that Cleveland will wait until the off-season to move him.

Some of the Indians' rebuilding trades have been better than others, but overall they're setting up a fairly good foundation. Their current team has obviously undergone several changes as they switch their focus to the future.

Cleveland called up Jason Beverlin to replace Shuey on the roster, presumably until Mulholland arrives. Although he's compiled a 106:39 K:BB in 118.2 IP with 107 H and 11 HR allowed primarily as a starter at AAA, Beverlin is expect to work out of the pen rather than start for the Indians. The 28-year-old righty may very well be returned to AAA once the Indians have to make room for Mulholland.

The Indians called up Sean DePaula to replace the traded Chuck Finley on the roster. DePaula has good dominance but his poor control prevents him from holding a position in a major league pen. Jason Phillips made a couple starts for the Indians following the Colon trade, but he was recently demoted when Cleveland activated Jaret Wright and Charles Nagy from the disabled list.

Phillips signed with the Indians as a minor league free agent when the Pirates released him in June of 2001. He'd moved slowly since he was drafted out of high school in 1992 but had more success after joining Cleveland. At AAA Buffalo this season, he's allowed 82 H and 6 HR in 92.1 IP with a 68:16 K:BB. During his three starts in the majors, the 28-year-old only managed an 11:9 K:BB in 18.2 IP with 16 H and 3 HR allowed. His history indicates he's not suited to starting, so the Indians should try to move him to the pen, as he might be able to maintain sufficient control to contribute in a relief role in the majors.

When he was promoted in early July, Phillips took the roster spot of the ineffective Jerrod Riggan. Despite only a half season of experience at AAA and a high walk rate, Riggan managed to pitch fairly well with the Mets last year. Unfortunately, after coming to the Indians in the Roberto Alomar trade this off-season, his control problems caught up with him and his dominance dropped. Unless the 28-year-old can get his walks under control at AAA, he'll be a AAAA reliever at best.

The Indians rotation currently consists of C.C. Sabathia, Danys Baez, Ryan Drese, Nagy and Wright. However, I don't expect Nagy to hold together through the end of the season and Wright could also easily wind up back on the disabled list. Cleveland really shouldn't bother waiting for Nagy to physically destruct. The only reason they continue to attempt to use him is that he's earning approximately $6M this season. If they're truly serious about rebuilding, they should realize that involves eating the salary of a couple players who are untradeable and cluttering up roster space that could go to players with upside.