In a classic change-of-scenery trade of two underachievers who had worn out their welcomes, the Padres acquired outfielder James Mouton by sending pitcher Sean Bergman to the Astros on this day 20 years ago.
Mouton had spent the 1997 season as Houston’s last-resort outfielder, and was being squeezed out by the combination of his own ineffectiveness and the acquisitions of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, Rob Butler, and Dave Clark, four new faces who more than offset the loss of a young Bobby Abreu and an end-of-the-line Chuck Carr.
Bergman had essentially been the mound version of that for the Friars, getting shelled both in spot starts and relief, and was made even more expendable by new additions Kevin Brown, Brian Boehringer, Dan Miceli, Donne Wall, Don Wengert, Pete Smith, Mark Langston, Archie Corbin, Carlos Reyes, and Stan Spencer.