You could just about field a team with the 16 players changinghands during the flurry of activity before the non-waiver tradedeadline Monday. Greg Maddux, Julio Lugo, Kip Wells, RobertoHernandez, the list goes on. But no matter how long you stare at thenames, you won't find Alfonso Soriano's.
Probably the most rumored trading chip all season never budged.
As with most years, the deadline-day results couldn't live up tothe hype. And with most years, the boldest moves were struck beforethe last minute. Here's a look at the winners and losers.
WINNERS
- Yankees: They had a long wish list and filled every item. Theyneeded a big bat and got one Sunday in slugging outfielder BobbyAbreu. In the same deal with the Phillies, the Yankees bolsteredtheir rotation with Cory Lidle. They wanted a better backup catcherand earlier raided the Phillies for Sal Fasano. Lidle pushed ShawnChacon out of the rotation, so he was sent to the Pirates for supersub Craig Wilson. General manager Brian Cashman was under the mostpressure and did a great job beefing up an already talented team. TheRed Sox didn't match the Bombers' big moves and might end upregretting their inactivity.
- Rangers: While most of us kept waiting for Brewers sluggerCarlos Lee to wind up in New York, Detroit or St. Louis, the Rangerspulled off a shocker. They also got outfielder Nelson Cruz in thedeal. With a wide-open American League West, the Rangers needed morethan Lee. So they strengthened their rotation with help from thePirates by adding right-hander Kip Wells, who has impressed scouts inthe last two weeks. Matt Stairs arrives from the Royals and adds someextra pop off the bench -- a luxury with Lee already on board. Withthe West-rival Athletics and Angels being surprisingly quiet, theRangers might have done enough to put themselves over the top.
- White Sox: Critics will blast them for not getting Soriano(turns out he wasn't so available) or left-hander Barry Zito (heNEVER was available). But general manager Ken Williams still has atalented rotation and plenty of pop in his lineup. Manager OzzieGuillen made two requests: a late-inning reliever and a backupcatcher. Williams delivered both a week before the deadline, gettingright-hander Mike MacDougal from the Royals and Sandy Alomar Jr. fromthe Dodgers. Jittery critics won't believe it, but this is still themost talented team in the AL Central.
LOSERS
- Cardinals: It's time for a news flash. The Cardinals are notgoing to pull off another 100-win season. It looks like the wild cardwill come out of the NL Central for a third straight season, and theCards might have to settle for that the way the Reds have beengaining ground. The Cardinals needed a bat for the outfield andanother pitcher. Right-hander Jorge Sosa would have been a nicepickup for the Cards last season, but he has been nothing but adisappointment for the Braves this season. Maybe pitching coach DaveDuncan can work his magic, but he has just two months to do thetrick. That's a big gamble.
- Tigers: Yes, they have the best record in baseball. And, yes,when the White Sox were in the same spot a year ago, they didn'tswing a blockbuster at the deadline. The Tigers know they needanother big bat but came up with Sean Casey, whose power has been indecline. The Tigers' pitching staff faces a rough final two months ofthe regular season -- just ask the White Sox pitchers how tough itgot last August and September. A bigger bat than Casey's would'vebeen a nice bit of insurance.
- Twins: They've charged out of nowhere to make a dent in the wild-card race, but the Twins have shown they're not built for the longhaul. The bullpen is solid but young. The rotation has two greatpitchers in Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana. The Twins' names gottossed into some uncharacteristic deals involving Soriano and evenLee. That might've been aiming too high for their budget, but theycertainly could've made a smaller deal that would give them a latepick-me-up.
cdeluca@suntimes.com
THE DAY IN TRADES A LOOK AT MONDAY'S NON-CUBS-RELATED TRADES
Cincinnati Reds Acquired LHP Rheal Cormier from Philadelphia forRHP Justin Germano.
Colorado Rockies Acquired LHP Jeremy Affeldt and RHP DennyBautista from Kansas City for INF Ryan Shealy and RHP Scott Dohmann.
Detroit Tigers Acquired 1B Sean Casey from Pittsburgh for RHPBrian Rogers.
Los Angeles Dodgers Acquired INF Julio Lugo from Tampa Bay for INFJoel Guzman and non-roster OF Sergio Pedroza.
Minnesota Twins Acquired RHP Zach Ward from Cincinnati for RHPKyle Lohse.
New York Mets Acquired RHP Roberto Hernandez and LHP Oliver Perezfrom Pittsburgh for OF Xavier Nady.
New York Yankees Acquired OF Craig Wilson from Pittsburgh for RHPShawn Chacon.
St. Louis Cardinals Acquired RHP Jorge Sosa from Atlanta for minor-league RHP Rich Scalamandre.
Texas Rangers Acquired OF Matt Stairs from Kansas City for non-roster RHP Joselo Diaz; acquired RHP Kip Wells from Pittsburgh fornon-roster RHP Jesse Chavez.
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