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"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Jim Callis&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;&lt;i&gt;June 7, 2004&lt;\\/i&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;After giving Peter Bergeron numerous chances to win their center-field job, the Expos finally gave up on him Monday. Montreal traded Bergeron and a player to be named later to the Brewers for two minor leaguers, righthander Jason Childers and outfielder Jason Belcher.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Bergeron, 25, turned in two desultory seasons as a regular for the Expos in 2000-01, then spent most of the next two seasons (including all of 2003) in Triple-A. A hot spring earned him another chance in 2004, but Bergeron batted just .214\\/.250\\/.214 with one RBI in 11 games before straining his right ribcage and going on the disabled list. Optioned to Triple-A Edmonton after coming off the DL in late May, he was hitting .512\\/.545\\/.732 in 11 games there at the time of the deal. Speed is Bergeron&amp;#8217;s best tool, and he throws better than most center fielders. But he has been woefully ineffective in the majors because he&amp;#8217;s a slappy hitter who doesn&amp;#8217;t get on base enough. He even has been erratic on the basepaths, succeeding on just 31 of 55 (56 percent) steal attempts. A career .226\\/.303\\/.308 hitter with eight homers and 56 RBIs in 308 games, Bergeron doesn&amp;#8217;t appear to be anything more than Triple-A insurance for the Brewers.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Childers, 29, signed out of Kennesaw State (Ga.) as a nondrafted free agent in 1997. At 6 feet and 160 pounds, he&amp;#8217;s not as physically impressive as his younger brother Matt, whom the Brewers always have regarded as a superior prospect, but Jason clearly outpitched him in the Milwaukee system. Childers had a career 2.92 ERA as a Brewers minor leaguer and was 1-0, 1.26 with an International League-leading 15 saves at Triple-A Indianapolis this year. He had a 27-9 strikeout-walk ratio in 29 innings, and opponents were batting just .196 with no homers against him. Childers&amp;#8217; fastball is a pedestrian 86-89 mph, but he has a good curveball, useful changeup and plus control. He could contribute to Montreal&amp;#8217;s bullpen later in the year.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Belcher, 22, projected as Milwaukee&amp;#8217;s catcher of the future after signing as a 2000 fifth-round pick out of an Arkansas high school. But he had repeated injury problems and was so poor defensively that he became a full-time outfielder in 2003. Belcher has a promising bat, hitting for average and drawing a decent amount of walks, though he&amp;#8217;ll have to step up his power production after the position switch. He&amp;#8217;s a purely offensive player who offers little as a runner or a defender. In 47 games this year at Double-A Huntsville, he hit .289\\/.357\\/.438 with three homers and 17 RBIs.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;June 18 update:&lt;\\/b&gt; The Expos completed the deal by sending Double-A righthander Saul Rivera to the Brewers. Rivera, 26, originally signed with the Twins as a 1998 ninth-round pick out of the University of Mobile (Ala.). He went to the Mets on waivers in November 2001, then to Montreal in the Scott Strickland\\/Bruce Chen trade in April 2002. Rivera, who sat out all of 2003, had a 0-2, 7.71 record in 18 appearances at Harrisburg this year. In 21 innings, he had a 15-12 K-BB ratio, while opponents batted .307 with three homers against him. For a little guy (5-foot-11, 165 pounds), Rivera throws exceptionally hard (low-90s fastball), but his secondary pitches and command never have come around consistently.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.baseballamerica.com/news/040607bergeron/>