NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The New York Mets' offseason overhaul continued Monday when they acquired outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, righthander Jeff D'Amico and four other players in a three-team trade involving the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies.
The Mets also obtained infielder-outfielder Lou Collier, outfielder Mark Sweeney and a pair of minor leaguers, pitcher Craig House and outfielder Ross Gload.
New York acquired outfielder Alex Ochoa from Colorado but sent him to Milwaukee with lefthander Glendon Rusch and baseball's all-time pinch-hit leader Lenny Harris.
The Rockies end up with infielder Todd Zeile, outfielder Benny Agbayani and cash considerations.
Burnitz returns to the Mets, with whom he broke into the majors in 1993. He spent parts of two seasons in New York but butted heads with former manager Dallas Green and was dealt to Cleveland in November 1994.
The lefthanded-hitting slugger blossomed after he was traded to Milwaukee in 1996. He hit 27 home runs in his first year with the Brewers and followed with seasons of 38, 33 and 31 before batting .251 with 34 homers and 100 RBI in 2001.
Burnitz joins a Mets' lineup that already included Mike Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo and was fortified during the offseason with the additions of Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn and Roger Cedeno.
D'Amico, 26, was one of baseball's most effective starters over the second half of the 2000 season. But he again was plagued by arm problems much of last year and was just 2-4 with a 6.09 ERA in 10 starts.
After missing virtually all of the 1998 and 1999 seasons after shoulder surgery, D'Amico was third in the National League in 2000 with a 2.66 ERA, winning eight straight starts and going 12-7 in 23 games.
Collier hit .252 with two homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases in 50 games while playing third base and the outfield. Sweeney batted .258 with three homers and 11 RBI in just 48 games.
House, a 24-year-old righthander, was 2-2 with six saves and a 4.45 ERA in 55 games last season with Class AAA Colorado Springs. He made 16 appearances for the Rockies in 2000, going 1-1 with a 7.24 ERA.
Gload's only major league experience also came in 2000, when he hit .194 with one homer and three RBI in 18 games with the Chicago Cubs.
Once considered a premier prospect, the 29-year-old Ochoa returns to Milwaukee, where he spent the 1999 season. He split last year between Cincinnati and Colorado and hit .276 with eight homers, 52 RBI and a career-high 16 stolen bases.
The key to the deal for the Brewers is Rusch, 27, who showed flashes of brilliance in two years in the Mets' rotation. He was inconsistent last season, going 8-12 with a 4.63 ERA, and became expendable after New York acquired lefthander Shawn Estes from the San Francisco Giants.
Harris joins the sixth team of his 14-year career after batting .222 with nine RBI in 110 games in 2001. On October 6, he singled off Montreal's Carl Pavano for his 151st career pinch hit, passing Manny Mota as the all-time leader.
The Mets had been trying to unload the 36-year-old Zeile, who has a hefty salary and slumped last year with just 10 homers and 62 RBI while batting .266 in 151 games. He figures to return to third base in Colorado, which traded Jeff Cirillo to Seattle last month.
Agbayani, 30, was a fan favorite in New York. Like many Mets, however, he had a sub-par season in 2001 with a .277 average, six homers and 27 RBI in 91 games. He is a streaky power hitter who could flourish in cozy Coors Field.
