Reds, A's Swap Four Players; Taveras To Oakland

Oakland and Cincinnati have agreed to exchange some troublesome contracts:

CINCINNATI - The Reds have traded center fielder Willy Taveras and infielder Adam Rosales to the A's for infielder Aaron Miles and a player to be named later, ESPN.com, citing sources, reported on Monday.

The Taveras addition comes just one day after the A's signed Gabe Gross to a one-year contract, a move that already required that they drop someone from the 40-man roster to make room. While the roster implications are unclear, Taveras will bring Oakland a lot of legs and a terrible bat, as he has more than twice as many career stolen bases (194) as extra-base hits (94). In keeping with a theme, Taveras is another capable defensive outfielder, but at this point he is little more than a defensive replacement and a pinch-runner. The 28 year old's career has not gone how old Astros officials imagined, and he may not stick around in Oakland for long.

Going the other way will be infielder Aaron Miles, a utility sort coming off a disastrous and injury-shortened .185 season in Chicago. Sending Miles frees up some payroll space, as Taveras has a $4m price tag. Miles may not make the Reds, but as a guy only two years removed from hitting .317, he will likely get a chance to compete for a backup spot in the infield.

Finally, Adam Rosales is a 26 year old minor league utility infielder who's hit .299 in AAA. Rosales is the "find" in this deal, the guy who made the A's willing to take on a little extra money, and he will most likely step into an immediate bench role with the big club. While he doesn't draw many walks or run exceptionally well, he does have an unusual amount of power for an infield reserve.

You can follow the discussion at Cincinnati blog Red Reporter and Oakland blog Athletics Nation.