 His first action after taking over was to hire Buck Rodgers, who had just won the Minor League Manager of the Year Award by leading the Expos' AAA farm team, the Indianapolis Indians to a 91-63 record and the American Association championship.Due to a tight budget set by the Expos ownership, Cook had to rely on trades instead of signing free agents.He traded away Gary Carter, Bill Gullickson, and Jeff Reardon in order to acquire promising minor league talent.