ANAHEIM, Calif. -- First baseman-outfielder Brant Brown was traded for the second straight year during baseball's winter meetings, being sent to the Florida Marlins by the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Bruce Aven on Monday.

	Brown

Brown, 28, hit .232 with 16 homers and 58 RBI last season, but struck out 114 times in 341 at-bats and had just four pinch hits in 35 at-bats for a .114 average - lowest in the majors for any player with 30 or more at-bats as a pinch hitter.

Aven, also 28, hit .289 with 12 homers and 70 RBI as a rookie for Florida last season, and had eight hits in 19 at-bats against the Pirates. He hit two grand slams, including the first pinch-hit grand slam in Marlins history.

Both general managers -- Dave Dombrowski of Florida and Cam Bonifay of Pittsburgh -- said the move gave their teams better balance. Brown is a left-handed hitter, while Aven bats right-handed.

"If you look at the stats, they're comparable," Bonifay said. "We just think Bruce is a better fit. It was apparent against left-handed pitching we were very suspect. A guy like Bruce gives us flexibility, he can be a starter, he can play both corners (right and left field), he has some pop."

Brown was traded to the Pirates last Dec. 14 during the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn., for right-hander Jon Leiber.

Brown is probably best known for dropping a fly ball hit by Milwaukee's Geoff Jenkins with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning in the final week of the 1998 season. The error cleared the bases, giving the Brewers an 8-7 victory, but the Cubs overcame the loss to make the NL playoffs.

"He talked to me, he was excited, somewhat shocked," Dombrowski said. "He gives us a left-handed hitter off the bench, which we don't have. Bruce did a good job for us, Brant is just a better fit."

Dombrowski called Brown an excellent fielding first baseman, saying he'll see some action as a backup to Derrek Lee at that position in addition to pinch hitting and playing the outfield.