... Trembley said that Patton, the jewel of the Tejada deal, has the best chance to step into the rotation. But he also said that he won't go out of his way to rush him and that Albers will likely cement a spot somewhere on the staff.

"We'll see what our needs are in Spring Training, but if he's ready to pitch in the big leagues, let's put him in there," Trembley said of Patton. "He's got a shot, but there are a lot of guys that have a shot. We've still got Olson and Penn. I don't know what we're going to do with [Brian] Burres yet, and obviously I'd still like to get another left-hander in the bullpen."

... Trembley also said that he hasn't considered sliding Melvin Mora over from third base and that he'd prefer to see Freddie Bynum and Brandon Fahey as bench players instead of starting options at shortstop.

"Bynum's in winter ball in the Dominican, and I just looked him up last night," he said. "From what it says in the stats, he's just playing the outfield there. I like Freddie Bynum as a utility guy because of his versatility -- he can play all three spots in the outfield, and he can play second and short. I think Fahey's in the same position."

... Center field, he said, is a complete mystery at this point. "I'm not sure yet," he said. "I'm not sure we're done addressing our outfield situation yet. I know that Payton and Scott can both play more than one spot, and I'd think that in Spring Training we'd do that with them."